


Riverhell

by Pembrooke330



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Crime, Death, F/M, Jeronica, Murder, Obsession, Riverdale, Sex, Stalking, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, jughead - Freeform, jughead jones - Freeform, veronica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-05-08 01:45:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14683845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pembrooke330/pseuds/Pembrooke330
Summary: This is a Riverdale AU that involves a very dark version of Riverdale and Jughead Jones.Read at your own risk...





	1. King Jones

The small town of Riverdale has descended into total martial law. No one was safe from anyone else. No one trusts anyone else. People aren’t sure if they’ll live to see another day, and there is no escaping it.

This is what life is like now all over the whole, entire world. Mass chaos, murder, debauchery. It’s as if hell had come up out of the depths to play, and there was no happy ending in sight.

Thrust in the middle of it all is Jughead Jones, the reluctant militant leader of the Southside Serpents. Years of loss and murder had led to a mind that is never at rest. He knows he’s unhinged, he knows it doesn’t take much to set him off. And he knows that his attraction for the Serpent’s newest recruit isn’t healthy.

Veronica Lodge had consumed him with her Serpent dance that she did nightly on the stage of the Whyt Wrym. Her green and black rhinestone corset left little to the imagination, and he found himself hooking up in the bathroom with any random girl that might be hanging out around the bar just so he could pretend she was Veronica for a good, solid 30 minutes.

Because Veronica Lodge wouldn’t give him what he wanted. It didn’t matter who he was. And the inability to get her to relent was slowly driving him crazier than he already was.

“Just get _one_ drink with me, Ronnie.” He said as Veronica came down from the stage and started towards her small dressing room in the back of the bar.

“Hell no.” She replied as she flipped her hair.

Jughead gritted his teeth.

“Why the _fuck_ do you do that?” He asked, clenching his hands into frustrated fists.

“Do _what_?” Veronica asked as she turned to glare at him.

“You get up on that stage and stare at me while you dance only to tell me to fuck off after you’re done.”

Veronica smirked.

“I do it because I _love_ the way you look at me. It gets me so amped to do this shitty ass job. You’re hot as fuck, Jughead Jones, but you’re completely insane. And I refuse to date crazy.”

Jughead shook his head, smirking.

“I’m not asking you to date me.” He replied.

Veronica rolled her eyes.

“I’m not a slut, Jones. Despite what I might do to earn my keep around here. It was under _your_ orders that I have to dance for my supper in order to be a Serpent.”

Jughead smiled.

“Is there something else you’d like to do? I can make arrangements.”

Veronica crossed her arms over her glistening corset.

“Oh? Like be one of your concubines? No thank you. I don’t care how big your dick is, I’m not going to be a Jughead whore.”

Jughead scowled at the woman he’d known since high school who had become more and more edgy and jaded as the years had gone by. He almost wished for the days when she would complain about breaking one of her Gucci heels when she’d stepped out of her daddy’s chauffeur driven town car.

“Fuck you, Lodge. You still think you’re better than me, after all these years. Well, you’re not. You live under _my_ kingdom now. Show some fucking respect.”

But Veronica put her hands on her hips, not the least bit intimidated by the Serpent King.

“I don’t _think_ I’m better than you, Jughead. I _know_ I am. So fuck _you_.”

She spun around and stomped off, leaving Jughead’s heart slamming in his chest as he watched her walk away from him yet again.

Veronica Lodge was the one woman he couldn’t seem to get, and it drove him just as crazy as she said he was.

It was the pressure he was under that did it. Seeing as how the world had been completely turned upside down , Riverdale had developed the charming nickname of Riverhell. And Jughead had somehow inadvertently become the leader of a lawless town.

Many people came to him seeking the protection that being a Serpent brought anyone who joined. But you had to be able to offer something in return.

No one had much of anything these days. There would be all out battles in the streets over something as simple as a block of cheese. If you wanted to survive, you had to get your hands dirty, and you started to find out that the people you had once known to be good citizens of their little municipality, were capable of some of the most shocking behaviors you could imagine.

Like when the town librarian ended up being the top dead body dismemberer in the whole town.

Or how a grocery store owner discovered he was a pro at running a successful sleazy brothel, raking in so much cash that he had been able to buy the entire Pembrooke apartments and booted Veronica out immediately when she’d refused to join his prostitution ranks.

Jughead’s old high school chum had then come to him looking for food and shelter, and the power trip he’d been on when she’d come begging had been intoxicating. He’d struck a deal with her, but now he wished he’d gotten more out of it.

“Boss…we have a situation down at the docks.”

Jughead turned to see his friend and second in command, Sweetpea, with a concerned look on his face.

“The shipment that was supposed to show up…well…it didn’t. Again.”

Jughead sighed heavily.

“Fuck. Dilton promised me he would come through this month. Find him and bring him to me. I’ll handle this the way I should have handled it from the start.”

Sweetpea nodded.

“You got it. We already have a pretty good idea of where he’s setup his operations. We’ll find him.”

 

\---

Veronica felt jumpier than usual. Her conversation, or argument, with Jughead earlier had left her on edge. She went to bed in her small bedroom of the apartment she shared in the Serpent compound with Toni Topaz and Cheryl Blossom. But falling asleep never came easy as she tossed and turned.

As much as she loathed him, Jughead Jones had been her savior. He had been her last resort when she’d been kicked out of the Pembrooke. With her parents both in prison for their contributions to the fall of Riverdale, she had been on her own and she knew there was no way she could survive without a place to stay and a job to earn some money. She not only worked as a dancer at the Wyrm but as a trader for the Serpents. Trading motorcycle parts for the homegrown hooch the Serpents made in the basement rooms of the compound. Alcohol was hard to come by ever since the government had tried to put Prohibition back into place in order to try and restore some semblance of order.

It hadn’t worked.

She was grateful to Jughead in some regards. He could have told her to fuck off. But instead, he let her stay, though humiliating her by making her resort to the tacky corset she had to wear every night to twirl around a pole, much to the delight of her fellow Serpents.

But she got her revenge on him by making sure her focus was all on him every time she was on that stage and he happened to be around. She saw the way he looked at her, how hungry he was to touch her. She knew he could do whatever he wanted, as the leader of them all, but he never did. But she never knew if he might change his mind, and it fucked with her head constantly.

In the handful of years since high school, Jughead Jones had grown up. He was devastatingly handsome, with a strong body and hands and a swagger that put every other man in Riverdale to shame. Women wanted him, men wanted to be him. He was the king, by far.

But as physically attracted to him as she was, she couldn’t allow herself to go there. Jughead was known to be a borderline sociopath. He killed people, and often. He was the best stalker anyone had ever met, able to move around the darkness of night without ever being detected.

She knew he had often stalked her as well. She tried to tell herself that it was only because he was concerned about her safety. But if she was being completely honest with herself, she knew that wasn’t necessarily the case.

He was dangerous, with an edge in his gaze that was unsettling, frightening, and gave her the uneasiest of feelings. But dealing with the unpredictability of Jughead was worth it in order to have the safety she now had. She only hoped she could earn enough money soon to get out of Riverdale for good and move to the small community in California that she had heard rumors about. Apparently things were peaceful there and bright and positive and it would take her far away from the Riverhell she was living in now.

 

To be continued…

 

 


	2. Reluctant

Jughead watched as Dilton Doiley downed vodka tonic after vodka tonic, laughing with some of the other Serpents who were keeping a close eye on him until Jughead was ready to confront his old high school friend turned business partner.

Jughead had been paying Dilton good money to deliver a shipment of highly in demand fresh foods from Dilton's contact with a local farm.

The food had been vital to the people of Riverdale, but for the second time, Dilton hadn’t delivered. People had been eating canned and boxed foods to sustain themselves, and the masses were starting to get frustrated. People were turning on each other more so than usual.

The few fruits and vegetables that Jughead had been able to provide through Dilton had given the townspeople something to look forward to. And having something to look forward to had cut down on the Riverdale body count.

But the people were getting restless, demanding to know when they’d see a fresh apple again.

Jughead, Sweetpea, and Toni had done their research and eventually discovered where the farm was that Dilton had been keeping tightly under wraps, desperately trying to keep the monopoly on the fresh food imports for the town. But now, Jughead and his team were able to make their move.

Jughead was just about to approach his old friend when he saw Veronica suddenly walk up and give Dilton a big hug.

“Veronica Lodge! Wow! I haven’t seen you in years.” Dilton was saying as Jughead watched from a dark corner of the bar.

Seeing the way Veronica smiled at Dilton made him clench his jaw in jealousy. She never smiled at Jughead that way and he could feel the rage building up in his gut. Rage that he would need to sustain in order to do what he was going to have to do later.

“You look _amazing_.” Dilton said as he put an arm around Veronica’s waist.

Veronica started to pull away from the awkward embrace, until she caught Jughead’s eye, looking at her with the most furious of scowls.

“Why thank you, Dilly. You’re just as handsome as always.” She said as she playfully ran a hand through Dilton’s hair.

Dilton was clearly intoxicated, and not just by the drinks he’d been slamming down, but by Veronica Lodge’s shameless flirting as she kept her eyes on Jughead while wrapping her arms around Dilton’s neck. Her body up against his while she took a sip of his drink.

“I have to go dance now, but maybe we can hang out later?”

Dilton nodded emphatically.

“I’ll be waiting.” He replied as he watched Veronica walk away and up to the stage.

Jughead gritted his teeth when Veronica brushed by him, smirking.

“I’m going to fuck her so _hard_ later.” Dilton was saying as Jughead approached the bar.

Dilton looked up, smiling as his eyes landed on Jughead.

“Jughead! My old friend! How the fuck did you manage to get Veroninca Lodge up on that pole? You must be a goddamn magician. Bitch is hot as hell, even more than in high school.”

Jughead nodded as he took a seat next to Dilton, ignoring the question.

“We have some business to discuss, Doiley.”

Dilton chuckled as he took another sip of his drink.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. The shipment. But what can I say? My price went up and you haven’t been able to come up with the cash. I’m sorry that I can’t help you.”

Jughead shook his head

“We had a _deal_ , Doiley. You told me you wouldn’t increase prices until after we got our new brew online so we could break even.”

But Dilton only shrugged as his eyes stayed glued on the seductive dance of Veronica Lodge.

“Tell you what, Jug. You hand over the wench and maybe we can strike up a _new_ deal.”

Jughead looked up at the stage. Veronica was watching his conversation with Dilton closely, even though she couldn’t possibly know what it was about. But she was irritatingly nosy about his business.

“You want Veronica?” He asked, his voice gruff with anger.

Dilton nodded slowly.

“Yep. She’d rake in _tons_ of cash for me. And that would offset the extra you would owe me.”

It was all Jughead could do to keep his cool in the middle of the packed Serpent bar.

He knew it was time.

“Let’s head to my office and discuss it more. Without prying eyes and ears.” Jughead said as he got up from his seat.

Dilton smiled greedily as he downed the rest of his drink before getting up to follow Jughead, having no idea that he had awoken a beast that could not be tamed until blood was spilled.

\---

Veronica watched helplessly as Dilton Doiley followed Jughead through the door at the back of the bar that led down to the basement of the Whyt Wyrm.

He had no idea what he was in for, but Veronica did.

Her heart sank. She should have known better than to flirt with Doiley so ruthlessly in front of Jughead. But her need to drive Jughead more insane than he already was had been too strong, too tempting for her to ignore.

It was the only thing that brought her a feeling of power. The fact that she knew she had an effect on Jughead gave her some type of control when she was living in a situation where she had very little. But getting someone killed over her game was not something she had planned.

As soon as her song ended, she jumped off the stage and ran for the door that Fangs was guarding.

“Let me in, Fangs.” She demanded as she stood in front of him, her heart thundering in her chest with fear and guilt.

But Fangs only laughed at her.

“Dream on. No one is getting through this door unless they take me down. And no one has _ever_ been able to do that.”

Veronica clenched her fists.

“Fine.” She said, defeated as she started to turn around.

But before he could even react, Veronica spun back to face him before kneeing Fangs right in the groin. Causing the gang’s main muscle to crumble to the ground from the pain.

“Might want to get some ice for that, Big Man!” Veronica seethed before opening the door and slamming it shut behind her.

She ran down the rickety, wooden steps until she reached the cold, cement floor of the basement where Jughead had a small office and other rooms used for various unspoken things that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know about.

She walked down the narrow, damp corridor until she heard the muffled sounds of someone being repeatedly kicked or punched or both coming from behind one of the doors.

“Uggff....ahhgg…”

Veronica put her ear to the door, her pulse racing, her heart beating so fast she prayed she wouldn’t pass out. She had been able to stomach a lot of horrible things in the past few years but this was on a whole other level. She could only guess what Jughead was doing to Dilton on the other side of the splintered wood door.

She tried to turn the knob to see if the door was unlocked, but of course it wasn’t. She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t really want to see what was going on. She didn’t want to be a party to it, though she knew deep down that she already was.

“Fuck…man…what the hell are you going to do—“

But before Dilton could even finish his question, Veronica heard the sound of gurgling, as if someone was drowning, trying desperately to catch their breath. And then there was a thud, something had hit hard on the cement floor.

“Oh God…” Veronica whispered as she covered her hand with her mouth.

Before she had a chance to run back upstairs and pretend she hadn’t heard what she just heard, the door flew open.

“Holy shit!” Veronica yelped as she jumped back.

Jughead quickly shut the door behind him, his white tank top was covered in fresh blood, red as the devil.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing down here?” He demanded to know, his blue eyes wild with something she couldn’t quite comprehend.

And even though he stood in front of her with a bloody knife still in his blood soaked hand, she couldn’t stop herself from asking him a question she clearly already had the answer to.

“Did…did you just kill Dilton Doiley?” She asked, her voice shaking.

She immediately hated how panicked she sounded. She never wanted Jughead to think she was weak in any kind of way, but she finally knew that all the rumors about Jughead Jones being a crazed murderer were true.

Jughead smirked.

“He shouldn’t have been talking to my _special_ girl.” Jughead said as he stepped towards her.

Veronica stepped backwards until her back was against the icy brick wall of the basement hallway.

“I was just fucking around, Jug. You didn’t have to _kill_ him over it!” She yelped as Jughead gazed at her.

He stared into her eyes, not flinching for even a second. The rage still so evident, but he was eerily calm.

“He said he was going to fuck you. Did _you_ want to fuck him, Veronica?”

Veronica could barely breathe as Jughead took his bloody knife and pushed aside a stray strand of her dark hair with the very tip of the blade. Her whole body was tense and she was only aware of it because he had his hand on her shoulder. She was bracing herself, and she wasn’t sure for what. She didn’t know what Jughead might do to her. If he was going to kill her, cut her, or fuck her.

“No…” She managed to reply as she balled her hands into fists. Determined to fight him if she had to.

He leaned in close, making her shake with fear.

“Good answer.” Jughead murmured softly as he brushed his lips against her ear.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was completely terrifying her, she would have enjoyed the contact. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. But she hadn’t at all considered Dilton Doiley for one minute. It had all just been a game. But the game had been far too costly.

“But don’t flatter yourself, Lodge.” Jughead said as he stepped back and took out a handkerchief from his back pocket and began to clean Dilton’s blood off of his serrated hunting knife.

“Dilton and I had a business arrangement that he hadn’t made good on. So…you know…I had to end our deal.”

Veronica exhaled slowly. Jughead wasn’t going to hurt her. She thanked whatever god there was above.

“By killing him? Was that _really_ necessary?”

Jughead gave her a sardonic look.

“I know you are new here. But you’re not _that_ new. Everything I do is necessary, Veronica.”

She couldn’t believe how calm he was, how subdued, even though the look in his eyes didn’t quite meet his demeanor. The wildness was still there and it made her nervous, but in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

“Everything you do is fucking _insane_. How do you sleep at night?” She asked him, her fear suddenly turning into anger.

Jughead clenched his jaw as he looked away.

“I don’t.”

Veronica found herself not at all surprised by Jughead’s response.

“Good.” She replied as he glared at him.

Jughead smirked.

“He was also a sex trafficker. He told me that he would honor our deal if I handed you over to him. Maybe I should have.” He said flippantly as he started towards his office.

Veronica gasped.

Of all the people she’d gone to high school with, she hadn’t expected Dilton Doiley would ever be in the sex trafficking business. And she certainly hadn’t expected to be saved from being made a sex slave by Jughead Jones.

She didn’t know what to say. Somehow saying thank you seemed wrong when the body of their former classmate wasn’t even cold yet.

“Jughead?”

He stopped, waiting for whatever it was she was going say, but he didn’t turn around.

“I need a night off. Toni and Cheryl asked me to come to their wedding.”

Jughead nodded before he kept going.

“Thanks, Jug.” She said quietly.

But he must have heard her because he turned around then and looked at her with that piercing gaze.

“You’re welome, Ronnie.”

 

To be continued…

 


	3. Hot Heads

Jughead sat in front of the fireplace of his small cabin that sat along the bank of Sweetwater River. He had built it years earlier, wanting to get away as far as possible from Riverdale, while still being able to keep a hold on his gang and their underground business dealings.

It was the only place where he could escape the murder, the crime, the dark, and everything in between that made his life a living nightmare.

The only thing that ever seemed to bring him any real peace was thinking about Veronica.

He thought about her far too much, even dreamed about her. He even thought about her when he was punching Dilton Doiley so hard that Dilton's face had become unrecognizable.

Jughead knew he could have made Dilton’s death a lot more quick and painless than he had. But when Jughead had witnessed the way Dilton had looked at Veronica, when he heard the way Dilton had spoken about her, it had enraged him. And once Jughead reached that level of anger, there was no turning back. He had to see the rage through. He had to end Dilton’s life and make him suffer in the process.

And in the days that followed, Dilton’s sex trafficking business had been burned to the ground. And Jughead now held the monopoly on the fresh food co-op with the farm they had found only an hour outside of Riverdale.

“What have you been doing with all the food, Jones? Hoarding if for yourself and your Serpent scumbags? We’ve been waiting fucking weeks and weeks for this shit. My customers have been sending me death threats daily.” Reggie Mantle had spat when Jughead had personally delivered the food to Reggie’s black market grocery cellar underneath Riverdale High School.

“I had an issue with my business partner. But it’s settled now. You won’t be without a shipment ever again, if I can help it." Jughead had replied.

Reggie shook his head in disgust.

“You better fucking help it.” He scoffed as he began to help his crew unload the boxes from the black van the Serpents always used for nighttime runs.

And as fast as a lightning strike, Jughead had grabbed Reggie by the front of his shirt and pulled out his switchblade.

“I think you _forgot_ who you are talking to, Mantle.” Jughead growled as he held the knife to Reggie’s throat.

Reggie swallowed, trying to find his voice while eyeing the knife whose blade glistened in the moonlight.

“I’m sorry, Jug. I’m sorry. I just…old habits die hard, ya know?” Reggie replied, his voice full of remorse and fear.

Reggie Mantle had always been Jughead’s biggest bully all throughout school. But it had been seven years since they’d graduated from Riverdale High, and Reggie was no longer in any position to be treating Jughead how he once had.  

“If you disrespect me that way again, I won’t hesitate to castrate you with one of the dull blades I keep around just for people like you. People who think they can cross me and get away with it. I murdered a man for this food, and I have no problem eliminating you as well.”

Jughead let go of Reggie’s shirt and pushed him back.

“Go get the food and get out of my sight.” He bellowed as he headed back to the passenger side of the van and climbed in.

He tried to breath deeply, catching his breath, calming the rage. It would do him no good to murder Reggie Mantle. The town needed him a lot more than they had needed Dilton.

“Why the _hell_ would you fuck with that crazy asshole?” Jughead heard one of Reggie’s employees ask as they finished unloaded at top speed.

Jughead smiled to himself. He got a sick satisfaction from making Reggie piss his pants. The power was addictive, but it was when he was back in his cabin alone that he plugged himself back into reality.

He couldn’t let himself get power hungry. He couldn’t let himself get caught up in the authority he’d managed to build as Riverdale fell to the pits of hell on earth.

Veronica had helped to give him the figurative kick in the nuts that he needed. She hated him, and he knew it. He could make her do anything he wanted, but he didn’t. He knew that if he ever got to be with her, that it had to be real. She would have to be the one to come to him, to want him back. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. And knowing that kept him grounded in a way he needed.

So he reminded himself constantly to stay in check, to think of himself the way Veronica thought of him, because he never knew when disaster was just around the corner.

 

\---

“And of course, Cheryl wants red roses for the occasion.” Toni Topaz was explaining to Veronica as the two women were busy working in the large, cement block room underneath the Serpent compound.

They worked in the day, coming in just before sun-up to start the process of bottling the alcohol the Serpents had learned to make based off of an old pruno recipe some of the Serpents that had done some time in the slammer had managed to write down before their release.

The concoctions they had managed to come up with had been extremely popular, and people throughout Riverdale, and beyond, were desperate for the illegal alcoholic drink. It was in demand to the point that Jughead had ordered the creation of a whole new brew he had been encouraged to try and make.

Alcohol was the only way that most people could handle the lives they now led living in the doldrums of current life in their small town. And the Serpents had cornered the market on alcoholic needs of their neighbors all the while staying off the broken government’s radar. Veronica had to admit that Jughead knew what he was doing and it was impressive.

“Where are you going to get red roses?” Veronica asked with a sigh.

She didn't know how long it had been since she'd seen a rose.

Toni chuckled.

“Jughead managed to get us a shipment of white roses, as well as a few dozen cans of red spray paint. It was the best he could do, but we’ll make it work.”

Veronica’s pulse raced as her hands suddenly began to shake, but she didn’t want Toni to see the effect that just the mention of Jughead did to her.

“So I guess we’ll be pulling a real life _Alice in Wonderland_ by painting the roses red?” Veronica said with a laugh.

Toni nodded, smiling.

“Anything to make my girl happy.”

Veronica smiled slyly at her friend.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I made you both something special for your big day.” She said as she quickly went over to the far wall of the room and removed a loose brick that she had discovered weeks earlier.

She reached her hand in and pulled out a plastic bag full of a pale yellow liquid.

“What in the world is that, V?” Toni asked curiously, a big smile of excitement on her face.

Veronica held up the bag, smiling proudly.

“I have learned a lot about pruno making over the past few weeks and I came up with your very own, signature wedding champagne. I made it from the leftover apricots FP gave me.”

Tears of happiness formed in Toni’s eyes as Veronica poured them both a small cup of the concoction and took a sip.

“Wow, that’s…that is _amazing_ , Veronica. Thank you so much!” Toni said as she gave Veronica a tight hug.

“Cheryl will be so happy. We didn’t think we’d be able to have any alcohol at the wedding. Sweetpea is so strict about us drinking our profits.”

Veronica nodded.

“I know, but I used my own ingredients to make this, so he better not say a word.”

The two girls sat and drank, taking a break from the task at hand. It wasn’t long before Veronica was sufficiently drunk and Toni was puzzled as to why. It wasn’t like Veronica to drink, much less drink on the job. It had always been important to her that she keep herself sharp and ready for anything at any moment.

But ever since Jughead had killed Dilton, she had felt incredibly uneasy and restless.

“Veronica, what’s going on with you lately? You’ve been more on edge than usual and now you’re completely wasted. Has something happened? Do you need a meeting with Jughead? Toni asked, concerned.

Veronica shook her head.

“The last thing I want to do is talk to that fucking psycho.” She replied before taking another sip of the homemade champagne.

Toni’s eyes widened with surprise.

“What happened?”

Veronica told Toni the whole story of what went down in the Whyt Wyrm and then in the basement. She couldn’t hold back the tears that began to roll down her cheeks, and she hated herself for it, but she hated Jughead even more for being the reason why she was crying in the first place.

“ _Fuck_ …Veronica…I’m sorry, but…that’s how shit goes around here. You know what life is like in the world now. You know how fucking _dark_ things have become. You just didn’t have it literally right in your face until now.”

Veronica nodded.

“And it’s just…what the hell happened to Jughead? Where is the guy I used to know in high school who either had his nose in a book, eating hamburgers and sitting around typing away on his laptop?”

Toni shook her head.

“That Jughead still exists, V. But Jughead is our leader. And not only a leader of the Serpents. He pretty much has the weight of the whole town on his shoulders with trying to keep some semblance of peace. This might be hell on earth, but it’s livable for the most part. And that’s because of Jug.”

Veronica sighed.

“But he kills people. He stalks people. He stalks _me_. He fucking freaks me out.”

But Toni chuckled.

“You know what I think is freaking you out so much about Jughead Jones?” Toni asked with a smug grin on her face.

Veronica scowled.

“ _What_ , Toni?”

Toni shrugged.

“That maybe he kind of turns you on. And you know how fucked up it is to be turned on by him.”

Veronica shook her head.

“No…no _way_. I might be drunk, but you could never get me drunk enough to admit _that_.” Veronica replied as she took another long swig of her drink, avoiding the way Toni was looking at her. As if she didn’t believe Veronica for one second.

“Admit what?”

Both girls jerked their heads towards the doorway of their workstation to see Jughead himself, standing there having caught the tail end of their converstation.

“Nothing!” Veronica yelped as she jumped up and threw away the empty bag of apricot champagne.

She was thankful she had made six more batches of the sweet, fizzy drink. Drinking an entire bag hadn’t been her original intention.

“Oh, you know, Veronica here was just telling me how she would never admit that she actually _likes_ doing the Serpent dance, but that maybe she could commit to working the trades full time instead.” Toni said as she gave Veronica a devious smile.

Jughead nodded

“That’s fine. The Serpent dance is only for new recruits and you’ve been here long enough now. But, Veronica, you could have asked me yourself if you wanted a change. This isn’t a prison.” Jughead replied as he approached where the girls had been sitting.

Veronica chuckled sarcastically.

“Well, it sure as hell feels like one. This fucking place is one big, sneaky snake prison and we’re all the prisoners and you’re the knife-wielding, murderous warden with absolutely no conscience who we’re all supposed to just bow down to and suck off just because you look all hot now without that stupid beanie on all the time. And you know how to rock a leather jacket and smell good…and…and…why didn’t you tell me sooner that I could stop dancing? God, I _hate_ you Jughead Jones.” She said as she took her hands and pushed him hard, causing him to stumble backwards.

“What the _fuck_?” Jughead seethed, his eyes smoldering with rage at Veronica’s sudden drunken outburst.

Toni jumped up and stood between the two of them, her arms outstretched while Veronica staggered, her intoxication obvious as she glared at the Serpent King.

“She’s drunk, Jug. Just ignore it.”

Jughead clenched his jaw as his hands balled into fists. Suddenly he was pounding on one of the barrels of fermented oranges, breaking the wood into pieces as the juice flooded onto the cement floor.

“If you think this place is a prison then fucking _leave_!” He roared as he punched a second barrel, and then a third.

When he finally stopped, his hand was covered in his own blood, and the image of the knife he’d had in his hand a week earlier came flooding back to Veronica as she suddenly found her body becoming so weak that she could no longer hold herself up. She slumped to the cold, orange soaked floor below before everything went completely black.

 

\---

“I shouldn’t have said that, huh?” Veronica asked Toni and Cheryl as she sat in a warm bath the next morning after having come out of her alcohol induced blackout

Cheryl shook her head.

“You know how upset he was about Southside High being turned into that prison, Ronnie. And the civil war that eventually erupted from it almost killed him.”

Veronica nodded.

“God, I’m so fucking dumb. And now months of orange fermenting is destroyed all because I couldn’t keep my big, drunk mouth shut.”

Toni sighed.

“We’ll make up for it, don’t worry. We can get started on some small batches tomorrow that will ferment quicker. And I already ordered replacement barrels for the ones Jughead destroyed during his berserker moment.”

Veronica smiled sheepishly.

“Thanks, Toni. And I promise I will _never_ get that drunk ever again. I just…I hadn’t told anyone about Dilton and it was eating me alive.”

Cheryl nodded, as if she understood

“Dilton was a dick. He needed to die. And instead of having someone else do the dirty work, Jughead took it upon himself. That’s what leaders do. I know you absolutely loathe him, Veronica. But you’re going to have to apologize to him. Yes, he does some fucked up shit. Yes, he might be a tad on the mentally unstable side, but he still deserves our respect.”

Veronica sighed. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew Cheryl was right.

“Okay. I’ll go see him later.” Veronica replied, reluctantly.

Cheryl and Toni looked at her skeptically, as if they weren’t sure she understood how dire it was that she apologize to Jughead for what she had done in her drunken state.

“I _will,_ you guys. I promise.”

 

To be continued…

 


	4. Giving In

“It doesn’t taste right.” Jughead commented as he stood in one of the pruno packaging rooms of the Serpent compound.

“No fucking kidding. Fangs, Hog, and Jinx are all nursing some brutal alcohol poisoning.” Sweetpea replied as he took the plastic cup of pruno from Jughead and tossed it in a nearby garbage.

Jughead winced.

“So…we have a bad batch. Just toss it out.”

But Sweetpea shook his head.

“It’s a little more dire than that, Jones.” The tall, dark Serpent and right hand man of Jughead replied as he glanced at the clipboard in his hand.

“How dire, Pea?” Jughead asked with a sigh.

He already knew this was going to be bad news.

“This batch was about 5 barrels. They’re all bad. There’s no way we can compensate for it. Basically, we’re fucked. And this batch was supposed to be bottled and traded by next week.”

Jughead was not happy about the news at all. The Serpents alcohol business was vital to their well-being, to their way of life. It was the main thing that sustained them in their trades. Having a bad batch of the much sought after beverage was a huge blow to their business.

“Then throw it all out. I’ll think of something to do for damage control.” Jughead replied before leaving the compound to head to his cabin.

He’d have to think long and hard about what to do, and if he couldn’t come up with something fast, he’d have to resort to doing something he rarely wanted to do. Ask his retired father for advice.

\---

“So you admit it then? You have the hots for Jug?” Toni asked with an impish grin as she and Veronica walked through the trash-ridden, seedy streets of downtown Riverdale.

It was late, but they had to make a run for the bread that Mr. Peabody would be throwing out. Veronica needed the bread to use as the yeast activator for her apricot pruno that Toni insisted she make more of.

“It’s just too good, Veronica. Five ziplock bags are just not going to be enough for the wedding, the reception, _and_ the after party.” Toni had said to her.

Veronica had readily agreed to make more, beyond flattered that Toni had liked it so much. But she would need help gathering some supplies to make more. Thus, the two Serpent ladies had ventured out in the late afternoon hours when the streets were still somewhat safe.

“I don’t know, T. I mean, just because I fantasize about him ripping my clothes off with his teeth doesn’t necessarily mean I have the hots for him.”

Toni chuckled.

“ _Sure_ , Ronnie. Whatever you say.”

Veronica couldn’t help but laugh with Toni. She knew she sounded ridiculous, but it had been extremely difficult for her to admit how she was feeling about the guy she'd barely thought twice about in high school.

“Okay, okay, so maybe I _do_ have some totally insane, fucked up crush on our very scary, sociopathic leader.”

Toni nodded.

“Oh, _I_ knew that already. But what suddenly made you decide to admit it to _yourself_?”

Veronica shrugged.

“I guess the fact that he isn’t stalking me anymore makes him a bit more appealing. The fact that he let me quit dancing without making an issue out of it. And… _fuck_ …okay, so…I kind of like how reckless he is. And…I’m thinking of making a move on him. Does that mean I’m just as nuts as he is?”

Toni shook her head.

“You’re not nuts, Veronica. And Jughead isn’t quite as crazy as you may think.”

But before Veronica could ask Toni what she meant, she caught sight of a familiar form crouched by the front door of the local barbershop that had long since been abandoned.

“Ethel?”

The young woman looked up, her green eyes full of sadness and fear. Her clothes were filthy and rumpled, and she looked as though she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her matted hair wasn’t anything like the glossy locks she used to have back when they were students at Riverdale High. She didn’t know what had happened to the Ethel Muggs she had once known, but she was determined to find out.

“Veronica?” Ethel squeaked, squinting as she looked up at Veronica and Toni.

“What are you doing out here?” Veronica asked as she crouched down to get a closer look at her disheveled friend.

“I…I’m…I had to get away…he won’t look for me out here. I escaped but I...I needed…I had to rest.” She said, her voice shaking from either being cold or being afraid, or both.

“ _Who_ won’t look for you?” Veronica asked, already furious at whoever “he” was. How dare anyone ever hurt someone as kind as Ethel Muggs.

“Ch-Chuck. Chuck Clayton. My…uh…my boss.”

\---

Jughead sat with his dad at the same old trailer that FP had been living in ever since Jughead was in high school.

They talked over coffee, reminiscing about the old days, before things got so dark and dismal in their hometown.

“How’s mom? I haven’t talked to her lately.”

FP smiled.

“She’s doing well. She and Jellybean are thriving, thanks to Archie.”

Jughead nodded, happy to hear the news of his sick mother. Gladys Jones had come down with a severe case of pneumonia, and with the lack of enough good medical treatment in Riverdale, they’d had to send her to a place where she could be taken care of much better than what she had been afforded in Riverdale.

And that’s where Archie Andrews had come in.        

Archie had founded an underground refugee system, moving people around to other places, creating fake ID’s and social security numbers and backstories. He was able to find new homes in safe houses while also providing a little money and food.

The government had become so overwhelmed by crime and murder that they had put strict regulations on all citizens in every city and town all over the country. Everyone was to stay living solely in their hometowns, only allowed to venture out of their city limits for short periods of times.

The new Anchor Law kept mass exoduses from happening, which cut down on overcrowding. Jughead understood how the overcrowding led to more violent crimes, but knowing they were all stuck had been demoralizing, to say the least.

But Archie had found a way around the system, and ran a successful empire helping people to get to other places permanently.

And even though Jughead didn’t see him often, and even though they didn’t see eye to eye a lot of the time, they were still friends and helped each other out whenever necessary.

“You doing okay, son? You seem more stressed out than usual.”

Jughead sighed. There was no getting past his dad with anything.

“There’s a problem, dad. With the pruno trade.”

Jughead explained to FP what had happened with the bad batch of homemade alcohol and how they wouldn’t be able to recover the loss in time for their trade with the Ghoulies, the gang that distributed the alcohol in exchange for motorcycle parts that the Serpents were constantly in need of.

FP sighed once Jughead had finished filling him in, desperate for the former leader’s advice.

“Jug…the only thing I can tell you is to just tell the Ghoulies you need more time.”

Jughead shook his head.

“No. No _way_ , dad. I can’t do that. The Ghoulies will take that as a sign of weakness. They’ll use the tiniest of fissures in our façade to eradicate the Serpents once and for all.”

FP didn’t argue. He knew Jughead was right.

“Then the only other thing I can suggest if that you give up the Serpents supply of liquor at the Whyt Wyrm.”

Jughead groaned at she ran his hands through his hair. That was exactly what he’d been afraid his father would say.

“Dad…that liquor. It’s like liquid gold. I killed _three_ people in order to get my hands on it. It’s the only thing that seems to bring the Serpents any sort of joy. It’s the only luxury we have.”

But FP shook his head.

“You can’t afford any luxuries if you don’t want to risk the Ghoulies catching a whiff of a Serpent fuck up. Unless a miracle happens, I’m afraid you have no other choice.”

\---

“He gets all of us hooked on drugs and then makes us earn the drugs by fucking anyone who walks through the door. It’s absolute hell, Veronica. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Veronica listened as Ethel told her all about what Chuck Clayton had been doing ever since Riverdale had fallen into the depths of ruin.

He had been running a brothel, but one where the female and male prostitutes were all addicted to various types drugs. Everything ranging from heroine to meth to oxycodone.

“I had never even used drugs when I first started working for him. I was desperate and I had no other place to go when I ran into Chuck outside of Pop’s. He gave me a job at his disgusting whore house and suggested I get through my first trick by taking some muscle relaxers. It wasn’t long before I was completely addicted to Xanax and oxy. That motherfucker never paid me with _actual_ money. He just made sure I got so desperate for drugs that I’d fuck just about anyone to get a few pills.”

Ethel began to cry as Veronica’s heart broke for her old friend.

“He’s fucking evil, Veronica. I mean, I knew he wasn’t a great guy back in high school, but the way he lives now? It’s fucked up. I only managed to escape because I detoxed myself by pretending I had the flu. He was so grossed out when I puked on his shoes that he left me alone. I waited until he was out preying for 'employees' to finally get out.”

Veronica shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. She could hardly bare to hear Ethel’s horror story. But in learning about what Chuck had been up to, Veronica knew she had to do something.

“Where does he go to get new workers?” Veronica asked, already forming a plan in her mind.

Ethel sighed.

“Ever since Pop turned the Chock-O-Lit shop into a soup kitchen, he goes there looking for young girls and guys that are just as alone and fraught as I was.”

Veronica nodded her head, taking mental notes of what her next move would be. There was no way she could let Chuck Clayton get away with what he was doing. It was beyond horrifying.

“You can stay with us as long as you want, Ethel. We’ll protect you.”

Ethel nodded as she lay down on the couch and wrapped herself up tight in the blanket Cheryl had gotten for her. She fell asleep quickly, and hard, as if she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in years.

“We’re going to have to tell Jug about Ethel. I’m sure he’ll be cool with it, but he still has to know.” Toni said as she and Veronica watched Ethel sleep.

Veronica nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll go talk to him. I still have to apologize.” Veronica replied, trying to hide the sly smile on her face.

Toni chuckled.

“I’ll understand if you’re apology leads to things that _don’t_ involve telling him about Ethel.” Toni replied with a devious tone in her voice.

“Let’s hope.” Veronica said as she checked her hair quickly before heading out the door.

She would have to worry about Ethel and the Chuck Clayton situation later. She had other matters to take care of first.

\---

 

Jughead stared at Veronica as she stood in front of the old, metal school teacher desk that had been in the basement for as long as he could remember. He now used it to store any documentation he had on all the members of the Serpents as well as all of their business relationships in, and outside of, Riverdale.

Other than for document storage, the makeshift office wasn’t used for much, and Jughead didn’t spend much time in it, unless someone needed to speak to him. And when Veronica had called him asking if she could come by, he had agreed. He could never say no to her, no matter how hard he tried.

“I just wanted to turn this in.” She said as she held out the corset she had been wearing every night when she did her serpent dance.

Jughead’s heart pounded furiously in his chest as he took the glittery costume from her.

He would miss watching her slow, seductive movements on the stage of the Whyt Wyrm. She had been the most captivating and beautiful dancer that the bar had ever had, and he wondered if she had any idea how good she had been, and how much she’d uplifted the overly stressed, tired, and downtrodden gang members. If he was going to have to sell all of the Wyrm's alcohol, they were going to need Veronica even more than before. But he wasn't going to make her keep doing something she hated.

“Thank you for your service. I hope you find working in the trades a lot less...oppressive.”

Veronica nodded.

“I appreciate it, Jughead.” She said as she took a seat in one of the folding chairs across from the large desk.

“And…I wanted to also…to apologize to you. The way I went off the other night…I realize how disrespectful that was to you. I was drunk…and…I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying.”

Jughead could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“You’re fucking apologizing?” He asked, incredulously.

He knew Veronica hated him, despised him, thought he was crazy and creepy. Why she would be willingly alone with him in his basement office, apologizing to him of all things, he couldn’t understand.

Veronica sighed.

“Yeah, I know. I’m surprised by it myself. But…it was the right thing to do…and…I mean it, Jughead.”

Jughead sat back in his chair, eyeing her, not saying a word. He didn’t know how much time had passed as he and Veronica stared at each other.

Finally, Veronica got up from her chair and walked around Jughead’s desk slowly. He watched her eyes, hoping she didn’t notice how his hands were shaking.

“What are you doing, Veronica?” He said gruffly as she leaned against the side of his desk. Her leg was touching his as she looked down at him.

“I’m just curious, Jug. I noticed you haven’t been watching me dance much lately. You haven’t been lurking in the dark corners when I go to the compound at night and when I leave in the morning. I don’t feel you watching me anymore.”

Jughead smirked.

“I would think you’d be happy to know I’m not stalking you like a desperate, pathetic asshole.”

Veronica chuckled as she leaned down and braced herself on the armrests of Jughead’s office chair before sitting astride him on his lap.

Jughead was no longer able breathe with Veronica straddling him, facing him, her hands on his shoulders. He immediately felt his cock harden at the contact.

“I think we both know that you’re not desperate _nor_ pathetic, Jughead.” She said softly as she relaxed her body on top of his. 

It was all Jughead could do to not pick her up and throw her down on the cold metal of his desk, determined to fuck her until she was begging him to stop.

“But I _am_ an asshole.” He replied as he looked into her dark, brown eyes, his arms still crossed over his chest.

As impossible as it felt, he wouldn’t let himself touch her, because if he touched her, there was no going back.

Veronica nodded, smiling at him seductively.

“Yes, you _are_ an asshole. But…what can I say…I tried to like the good guys, but I’m a sucker for the bad ones.”

Jughead’s pulse raced. He couldn’t understand why this was happening, and he could only wonder if Veronica had ulterior motives. How could she possibly want him after all the fucked up things he’d done?

“I’m not _that_ bad.” He replied, trying to look away as Veronica began to unbutton her sweater.

Veronica chuckled.

“Now if _that_ isn’t the understatement of the year. Come on, Jug. Just go ahead and claim your victory over me. I’m no longer able to resist you. I don’t _want_ to resist you.”

Jughead squeezed his eyes shut as Veronica took his hands in hers and placed them on her breasts. She felt heavenly, and he wanted more of her. He wanted all of her.

But regardless of what he wanted, what he needed, he couldn’t allow himself to take it. It wasn’t right for Veronica Lodge to want him. She wasn’t supposed to.

“I can’t.” He said as he gently pushed her off of him and got up from his chair.

“You’re not a woman to be claimed, Veronica. Not by me. Not by _anyone_. You…you should go.”

Veronica stared at him in utter disbelief.

“Are you fucking serious right now? You’ve been hounding me for _weeks_ to have a drink with you and now you want nothing to do with me? I’m literally throwing myself at you, Jughead!”

Jughead ran his hands through his dark hair, frustrated with himself and with Veronica.

“I…I didn’t expect you to do that…” He replied as he moved to the other side of the room, as far away from her as he could get.

“Oh…okay, well…I’m sorry that I somehow decided to actually give you a shot…I’m sorry that I finally admitted to myself that I wanted you.” She replied sarcastically as she buttoned up her sweater as quickly as she could.

Jughead sighed.

“Veronica…I’m sorry…I was…I was just counting on you hating me.”

Veronica looked up and glared at him.

“Well, don’t worry, Jughead. I do. I fucking _hate_ you.”

And with that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Jughead sank to the floor of his basement office, it was the only thing he could do to keep himself from destroying everything in the room.

He sat with his head in his hands. The woman he wanted more than anything actually wanted him back. But he couldn’t be with her. Having her love meant he could turn into the monster he didn’t want to be. And he couldn’t afford to have a weakness.

Veronica Lodge was his one weakness.

\---

Veronica was angrier than she’d ever been as she sat at the bar of the Whyt Wyrm nursing a rum and coke and regretting her decision to finally give into Jughead Jones.

“What the fuck was I thinking?” She grumbled to herself before taking a long sip of her drink and ordering another.

But she knew exactly what she had been thinking. She had been thinking about how she could no longer deny how badly she wanted Jughead. How she had been thinking about him all the time. How she wasn’t nearly as creeped out by his stalking as she had wanted to be. The fact that his adoration and obsession of her had seemed to wane had bothered her more than she had thought it would.

She found herself wondering what had changed, why he had stopped.

So she had decided to make her move on him. But she hadn’t anticipated his rejection. And it had hurt more than she was willing to admit, even to herself. So instead, she decided to get drunk and do her best to forget about the Serpent King.

 

To be continued...


	5. Wedding Toast

“You look _hot_! Veronica is going to be all _over_ you. She loves a well-dressed man.”

Jughead sighed at Toni’s comment as she sat watching him tie his tie in an effort to look presentable for her marriage to Cheryl later that evening.

“Yeah, I know, I’m an idiot for what I did. But…you know my reasons, Toni.”

Toni rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, her hatred towards you keeps you grounded or whatever. Sounds like some bullshit to me, Jug. I think you’re just scared. Scared of letting someone close to you, especially someone like Veronica. She’s the only person in the world that intimidates you, and you think you don’t deserve her. But you’re wrong. She’s actually perfect for you.”

Jughead shook his head.

“You think you know me so well, don’t you?”

Toni nodded, satisfied with herself for her analysis of him when it came to Veronica Lodge.

“I _do_ know you, much better than you realize. And I know Veronica too.”

Jughead sat down on the couch in his small cabin living room.

“I’m way too fucked up for her, T. Besides, what if I lose my edge if I let myself be with her? I have this reputation for a reason. I can’t have any obvious weaknesses.” He said as he ran his hands through his hair.

Ever since his conversation with Veronica a few days earlier, he’d seen very little of her. She was obviously avoiding him. He’d been tempted to follow her the way he used to, but he’d stopped himself. He had to stop his obsession of her. He had to try and let go.

And he thought it was because having her hate him was somehow helping him remember who he was, and that it would keep him from getting too confident, too comfortable.

But what Toni had said was causing him to face what the real reasons were. That when it really came down to it, he didn’t think he was good enough for Veronica, or anyone. Not when he was a deadly criminal. And being a deadly criminal was the only way he and the other Serpents would survive. He didn’t know how allowing love into his life would affect him, or how it would change him, and he was too afraid to find out.

Toni scoffed.

“Fuck all that bullshit, Jughead. Being with Veronica would give you _more_ edge, if you ask me. She’d give you everything you need. That fulfillment would sustain you, it would give you a firm foundation. Jughead…just think about it. You deserve love, you deserve Veronica. Let yourself have something for _you_. You’ve more than earned it.”

Jughead sighed. He wasn’t even sure what it was he felt for the raven-haired beauty from the Northside. He didn’t know if it was love or lust or both. All he knew was that he wasn’t sure if he could ever get up the courage to face the only real fear he had.

\---

 

“Damn, V! You look _incredible_!” Cheryl cheered when Veronica came out of her bedroom wearing her favorite little, black dress.

Veronica blushed, she had wanted to look amazing for Toni and Cheryl’s wedding. But more than that, she had every intention of capturing Jughead’s attention. If anything, to make him suffer for rejecting her.

As much as she wanted to forget him, as hard as she had tried to forget about how she felt about him, she couldn’t. Not when his presence was all around her all of the time, and not when she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anyone before.

She felt as though she must be losing her mind wanting a man who was so clearly dangerous and frightening and willing to do whatever he had to do to get what he wanted. But there was just something about that dangerous and frightening side of Jughead that was overwhelmingly enticing. She wanted a man that kept her guessing, kept her on her toes, drove her crazy, and made her hotter than she’d ever felt before. Jughead did all those things to her.

“Trying to impress a certain suitor in particular? One of which is the leader of our ragtag group of tyrants perhaps?” Cheryl asked with a devious smile, her flaming red hair piled on top of her head in large rollers as she applied the finishing touches of her wedding makeup.

Veronica scowled.

“If you mean Jughead, think again. I _hate_ that asshole.” Veronica replied as she sat on the sofa to put on her heels.

Cheryl let out a laugh.

“Oh Miss Lodge, who do you think you are talking to right now? Jughead might believe you actually hate him, but I know better than that.”

Veronica chuckled.

She didn’t even believe _herself_ when she claimed to hate Jughead. No matter how hard she tried to, she just couldn’t. And thinking that she could convince her friends to believe her had been ridiculous in itself. If she wasn't convinced she hated Jughead, she knew her friends wouldn't be either, and it irritated her to no end.

“Okay, fine. But… _God_ , Cheryl…if you had told me back in high school that someday I would be falling for Jughead Jones, I would have laughed right in your face. How did I _miss_ it? How did I not _see_ it back then that he is…”

Veronica didn’t allow herself to finish her sentence. She wasn’t sure if she should, or if she could. Jughead wasn’t even hers, therefore, how in the world could he be the one?

But Cheryl seemed to understand exactly what Veronica was saying.

“This world is so fucking crazy, Veronica. _No one_ expected _anything_ that has happened in the past seven years since we graduated. And that includes Jughead not expecting to ever have Veronica Lodge wanting to be with him. Give him some time. I guarantee you that he’ll get his head out of his ass sooner than later.”

Veronica sighed to herself, hoping Cheryl was right. She just wished she could understand why Jughead had so easily rejected her when she’d finally come to terms with what she wanted in regards to being with him. She thought he had wanted her. Especially since he hadn’t let up on her ever since she’d joined the Serpents. But then, out of nowhere, it seemed as if he was just suddenly no longer interested.

She found herself wondering if it’d had anything to do with her reaction to him killing Dilton. Maybe the fact that she had been so horrified by it was proof to Jughead that she didn’t have the stomach to handle the brutal things he had to do for survival.

It had been tough to admit it, but she finally understood it. She understood all the things Jughead had no choice but to do in order to keep the Serpents from falling into the despair that so many people in Riverdale had fallen into. He was determined to keep the Serpents above the fray. To keep them protected and strong.

She realized how his leadership was vital to their survival, and that meant having to do fucked up shit on a daily basis. As hard as it had been to accept that, she had accepted it. And now she wanted more than anything to be Jughead’s fallback. To be what he needed to help him keep fighting. There was something in his eyes that told her that he needed someone that would love him with no conditions, and no expectations, and no regrets. She wanted to be that person for him, and she only hoped that he would somehow let her in.

“So is Ethel going to go to the wedding?” Cheryl asked, changing the subject.

Veronica shook her head no.

“She’s not up for it, so she’s having a movie fest in my room tonight. I even gave her some of my precious stash of caramel chocolates for the occasion. Besides, I don’t think she’d be very comfortable with who I invited as my date.”

Cheryl looked at Veronica curiously.

“Who did you invite, V?” She asked, bracing herself for something she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to hear.

Veronica smiled slyly.

“Chuck Clayton.”

\---

 

Jughead swallowed hard as he looked across at Veronica during the wedding ceremony. She looked absolutely stunning. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

He was so entranced by her incredible beauty that he almost missed it when his father, who was officiating the ceremony, asked Jughead for the wedding rings so that Cheryl and Toni could finish their vows.

But Veronica would barely look at him, clearly still angry with what had happened between them in his basement office.

As much as he wanted to be okay with her hating him, he wasn’t. And he knew that she didn’t hate him nearly as much as she was trying to let on. He knew if she tried again to be with him, he would give in to her. He wouldn’t deny her. But he wondered if he’d lost his only chance.

After Toni and Cheryl were pronounced wife and wife, kissing long and tenderly before joining their guests to celebrate the emotional nuptials, Jughead made his way to the back bar of the Whyt Wrym to get a drink. He would need it if he was going to try and talk to Veronica again, hoping their conversation would go better than it had the last time.

“What is this?” Jughead asked Sweetpea as he eyed the champagne flute full of a pale, yellow liquid.

“It’s some kind of special wedding pruno your girl Veronica made for the occasion.” Sweetpea replied with a scowl, clearly annoyed that Veronica had made the drink behind his back.

Jughead chuckled. Of course Veronica had wanted to do something special for her two best friends, and that she would do right under the nose of Sweetpea.

“Well, at least it will save us from using the liquor haul we’ll be having to relinquish soon. Is it any good?”

Sweetpea shrugged.

“Try it.”

Jughead took a sip of the champagne, tasting the sweetness of apricot with hints of citrus and honey. The tingle in his mouth had to have meant she’d used some type of soda to give the drink a champagne-like fizz. All in all, the champagne pruno was better than any other pruno he had tasted before. He was beyond impressed.

“Wow…that…that’s _really_ good. When did she make this? The fermentation must have been quick for her to produce so much in such a short amount of time.”

Sweetpea nodded.

“Yeah, the shit is a hit. She’s obviously paid a lot of attention to not only the trade but the process of making hooch. Doesn’t make me happy that she did it behind our backs, though.”

Jughead shook his head, smiling.

“Sweetpea, think about it. This ‘shit’ could be what saves us. We need to get all the information we can on this immediately, and we need Veronica’s help.” Jughead said before taking another drink from the glass.

The champagne only seemed to get better with each sip, and he felt a sense of relief knowing that he might have just found the solution to his alcohol shipment dilemma. His pulse raced with hope.

He scanned the room for Veronica, wanting to find her so that he could talk to her about how she’d made the drink, to tell her how amazed he was by what she had come up with, when his eyes landed on a familiar face.

Betty Cooper.

It had been a couple of years since he’d last seen his ex-girlfriend, but she looked the same as always. Still lovely, still with that calming smile that had made him fall in love with her in the first place. Memories came flooding back. Memories from a time that seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Juggy…hey.”

Betty wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight as he hugged her back.

“How are you, Betts?” He asked, once they’d pulled away.

Betty smiled warmly at him and it was the most comforting thing he’d seen in a long time.

“I’m good. Just came to the wedding to see my cousin marry the love of her life, and to write about it. Cheryl wants it to be considered the social event of the season. Too bad weddings aren’t what my readers really want to see.”

Jughead grinned.

“Still telling the government to go fuck themselves?” Jughead asked, referring to Betty’s underground newspaper that she was the editor of.

Betty chuckled.

“Always.”

Most newspapers in the country had to be government approved, and they told lie after lie, giving a false view of the state of the world as a way to keep unrest and uprisings from occurring.

Betty had passionately and aggressively taken the initiative to write the truth about what was really going on in cities and towns in every country. The government had tried countless times to shut her down without success.  She had to move around constantly, with Archie’s help, to avoid ever being found and taken into custody. Likely to never be seen or heard from again. The thought was devastating to Jughead, but Betty had refused to use the Serpent compound as a refuge.

“It’s just too hard, Juggy. I still love you too much. And I know we can’t be together. I can’t live with that kind of pain day in and day out. I can’t be where you are.” She had told him years earlier when he’d asked her to stay at the compound.

He had understood how she felt, but he worried about her every single day. Seeing her now was a relief he needed with all the turmoil he’d been going through. He wished he could tell her everything, but telling his problems to Betty would only worry her. And he certainly could never tell Betty about his feelings for Veronica. Regardless of how Betty might feel about him now, if she still loved him or not, he would never want to hurt her.

“You look good, Jug. I don’t think I’ve seen you in a tie since prom.”

Jughead chuckled.

“Well, I haven’t been to many formal events lately. Not in this day and age.”

The smile from Betty’s face fell at the reminder of the old days, when life hadn’t always been easy but things were a lot less grim than they were now. And they’d had each other to lean on, that was, until they didn’t.

“And I hear Veronica is living here now?”

Jughead nodded as he looked down at the floor. He knew Betty could read him like a book. He didn’t want her to know anything about how he felt about her old best friend.

“So…is something going on between you two?”

Jughead looked up, suddenly, his heart racing.

“Why would you ask me that?”

Betty chuckled, but there was a sadness in her eyes.

“Because she keeps looking over here, as if she thinks I’m going to steal you away.”

Jughead turned his head in the direction where Betty was looking. His eyes locked with Veronica’s. She wore her usual stoic expression before turning to the well-dressed man that walked up with a glass of her champagne creation and handed it to her. Veronica smiled brightly at another familiar face he hadn’t seen in quite a while. But unlike Betty, this was the face of someone Jughead would have been happy to have never seen again for the rest of his life.

“But yet, she’s here with Chuck Clayton. How the _hell_ could you allow her to bring that deplorable asshole in here?” Betty asked, her voice filled with disdain for the former golden boy of Riverdale.

“What do you mean? What’s Clayton involved in?” Jughead asked, suddenly filled with dread and worry for Veronica, not to mention an overwhelming jealousy that was slowly churning into rage.

Betty sighed.

“Other than Veronica, apparently? Let me just say, if anyone deserves your murderous wrath, it’s Chuck Clayton.”

 

To be continued…

 


	6. Witnessed

“Why the _fuck_ did you bring Chuck Clayton here as your date?” Jughead asked through clenched teeth as he pulled Veronica out through the back door of the bar.

Betty had filled him in on the brothel Chuck ran, and how he had managed to make sure all of his prostitutes got addicted to drugs in order to do whatever they had to in order to get whatever it was they needed to maintain their highs.

“He even rapes the girls. All the time. He’s the devil incarnate, Jughead. And he’s managed to get away with it for years.” Betty had told him.

It was one of the most heinous things Jughead had ever heard, and he was determined to find out if Veronica knew about it or not, and to get her as far away from Chuck as possible.

But it wasn’t just Chuck’s business that had angered Jughead, it was the fact that Veronica had brought a date to begin with. He couldn’t stand the thought of anyone with her, of anyone else touching her. He couldn’t handle how jealous it made him, how angry he was by it. He wanted nothing more than to completely annihilate Chuck Clayton.

“Did Betty tell you about him? About what he does to the women and men that work for him?” Veronica asked, hopefulness in her eyes.

Jughead nodded.

“I had no idea. I knew Chuck was involved in shady shit but I had no idea that it was anything like that. How did you know about him?”

Veronica told Jughead all about running into Ethel, how she had looked, and what she had told Veronica about Chuck and the brothel. Not to mention how Chuck managed to secure new personnel.

“And Ethel is staying at your place now?” Jughead asked, concerned.

Veronica nodded.

“I was going to tell you the other day when I came to your office, but...I’m sorry, Jughead. I’m sorry for the way I came on to you. I shouldn’t have been so presumptuous.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“Don’t apologize.  You have nothing to apologize for. I was an asshole. Truth is, Veronica…”

But before he could finish his sentence, they were interrupted.

“I _thought_ I saw you come out here.”

It was Chuck, having come outside to look for his incredibly gorgeous date.

“Oh, hey Jughead. Long time no see.”

Jughead scowled at his old high school classmate. He and Chuck had never been friends, just like Jughead had never been friends with Reggie. Chuck and Reggie had been the two main bullies at Riverdale High, and Jughead would never forget all of the many ways in which they had tried to make life difficult for the resident outcast loner.

“Is…everything okay?” Chuck asked as he looked over at Veronica.

Veronica shook her head no.

“Actually, no. Everything is _not_ okay. Not one bit.” She said as she crossed her arms over her slinky, black dress.

“I asked you here tonight, Chuck, because Jughead is going to do us all a favor and make sure you never hurt anyone else ever again. Right, Jughead?”

Jughead glanced suddenly at Veronica, trying to hide the look of shock on his face. She had planned all of this for the specific reason of getting Jughead to get rid of Chuck Clayton, to avenge Ethel as well as all the other prostitutes that Chuck had been pimping out in his drug den brothel.

“Right.” Jughead replied gruffly as he pulled out his hunting knife from his back pocket just as there was a sudden rumble of thunder. A streak of lighting followed as Jughead unsheathed the knife and held it tightly in his hand.

Chuck laughed, but there was an obvious nervousness. Jughead had heard that kind of laugh before. The laugh of a person who didn’t really think Jughead was seriously going to hurt them, that he was going to end their life.

“You’re kidding, right? Veronica, I thought we were having a good time. I was hoping we could hang out some more later. What’s this all about?”

Jughead watched as Veronica approached Chuck, glaring at him as if she would like to be the one to murder him herself.

“This is about Ethel, and what you’ve done to her and countless others. You don’t deserve to live another day for the things you have done. And I made sure to find a way to get rid of you. And no one will care when they find your body floating down Sweetwater River tomorrow morning. They’ll be thanking whoever it was that finally destroyed you and what you stand for.”

But Chuck only smirked, still not taking any of what was happening seriously.

“You think I’m scared of you two? Really? I’m _untouchable_. I always have been. It’s why I’ve gotten this far in life. It’s why I’ve made so much money. I’m not scared of Jughead Jones. I don’t care what his reputation is.” Chuck replied as he glanced over at Jughead, still wearing the same shit eating grin on his smug face.

Jughead could feel the rage boiling within. The rage that he managed to easily muster whenever he knew what he had to do.

The rain began to fall, and as Chuck looked up to the sky just as another lightning strike zigzagged right above their heads, Jughead made his move with one, quick lunge.

“Ugghhh… _fuck_ …” Chuck sighed as he grabbed his neck.

Jughead breathed heavily, his knife now wet with not only rain but with blood as Chuck fell to his knees in front of him.

“Don’t fucking underestimate me, you fucking piece of shit.” Jughead seethed as he kicked Chuck in the back, flattening the pimp to the wet ground.

He raised his knife once more before slamming it down into Chuck’s back.

“Holy shit…” Veronica murmured as she stared at the dying Chuck Clayton, blood oozing out from under his lifeless body and into the cracks of the blacktop.

“You should go back inside. Try to salvage the rest of your night.” Jughead said calmly as the rain poured down, washing Chuck’s blood away with it.

Veronica looked up at him as if she had something she wanted to say, but she stayed silent.

“Go, Veronica. Please.” Jughead urged.

Veronica nodded as she went back inside, her hair soaked, but she still looked just as beautiful. 

Now she'd seen everything he was capable of, and he only wondered what she must think of him now. If she still hated him enough to stay away.

\---

 

Veronica shut off the lamp on the bedside table as Ethel fell asleep. She had just finished telling her old friend that she would not have to live in fear of Chuck Clayton ever again. That he was gone. Gone for good.

Veronica sat in the dark, not sure what to do next. She couldn’t stop thinking about what she had seen. How she had watched Jughead kill Chuck so easily, with no hesitation. It had been almost beautiful in how fast and flawless it had been. One second Chuck had been alive, and the next, he was dead in a pool of his own blood, and all by Jughead’s quick hand.

She knew Jughead was a killer. She’d heard him kill before. But she had never actually _seen_ him kill until that night. It was surreal.

There had been nothing satisfying about it for Jughead from what she could see by the look of regret in his eyes. She could expect that the regret wasn’t necessarily from murdering an evil person like Chuck Clayton. The regret was something else, and Veronica wanted to know what it was.

She sighed as she got up from the bed so she could change out of her dress, still damp from standing in the rain as Chuck breathed his last breath. But changing would mean that the night was over, and she didn’t want the night to be over. Especially when she wondered where Jughead had gone to after she had returned to the wedding reception.

Jughead had never come back. He hadn’t shown up at the after party either. She wondered if he was alone, or if he was with Betty Cooper.

Veronica hadn’t talked to Betty Cooper in a long time. Not since Archie had cheated on Veronica with Betty the summer that Jughead and Betty had broken up.

Archie had sworn that it had been a mistake. That Betty had been so upset about the breakup that she hadn’t been thinking straight. Archie had just wanted to help her. So when Betty had kissed him, he had given in.

“Always so quick to help everyone, huh, Archie? Especially your precious Betty.” Veronica had said to him when he had told her what had happened.

But it hadn’t been just a one time mistake. Archie and Betty had been sleeping with each other behind Veronica’s back for months.

“It didn’t mean anything, Ronnie. She’s not even over Jughead.”

Even if what Archie had said about Betty was true, it didn’t mean that Archie wasn’t feeling something for the girl next door. And when it came down to it, Veronica couldn’t believe that Archie wasn’t harboring something unspoken for the pony-tailed blonde. So she had broken up with him, and he’d never made any effort to get her back or tell her she was wrong for assuming he was secretly in love with her best friend.

Even with all of that in the past, Veronica still didn’t feel a desire to approach Betty at the wedding. Especially when she’d seen Betty talking to Jughead, and looking at him as if she was still in love with him, after all these years.

Veronica had felt as if her heart was being squeezed by an iron fist when she’d seen the way Jughead had smiled at his ex.

She could never compete with Betty Cooper.

But she would certainly try.

“Toni...I need Jughead’s address.” Veronica said as she stood over her sleeping roommate.

Toni sighed as she opened her eyes.

“If I give it to you, will you get out of mine and Cheryl’s bedroom?”

Veronica chuckled softly.

“Yes, of course.”

\---

 

Jughead sat with a glass of Veronica’s champagne in his hand, watching as the flames hissed in the fireplace.

It was his nightly ritual to sit and stare at the fire, unable to sleep.

Even the sound of the rain on his roof wasn’t enough to lull him, especially when he felt the edginess of having taken another life coursing through his veins. Clayton had lived a cruel life, but a life none the less. It never got easier.

Thunder rolled as Jughead took another sip of Veronica’s drink.

Veronica.

She had been incredibly brave as she stood up to Chuck. And she had handled Jughead killing him so much differently than when he had killed Dilton. It was almost as if she had accepted it. So much so that she was even willing to be party to it.

But Jughead didn’t know what it meant. He wasn’t even sure if maybe she had just been in shock. He wondered if she no longer hated him, or if she hated him even more now than before.

He couldn’t escape his thoughts and it was driving him insane.

So when he heard a knock at his door, he wondered if he was just hearing things, or if it was just the storm outside.

But the knock came again.

“Fuck…” He mumbled as he took out his knife and readied it in his hand.

It wasn’t often anyone came to see him so late at night, especially in such a brutal storm.

And when he opened the door to find a rain soaked Veronica Lodge, he blinked his eyes, not sure if what he was seeing right in front of him was even real.

But she felt more real than anything he’d felt before as she slammed her body into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her so her mouth could claim his in a kiss that made his heart pound wildly in his chest. His whole body weakened by the way her lips felt against his.

She had come to him, and just as he had promised himself, he wouldn’t refuse her again.

 

To be continued…

 

 


	7. Falling

Kissing Jughead Jones was staggeringly good.

In fact, it was criminal how unbelievable his lips felt against hers. And Veronica couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t get enough of his tongue in her mouth, and hers in his, the clashing of their teeth, the sucking and biting of lips as they frantically tore at each other’s clothes until every last piece was scattered on the floor around them.

His hands on her body gave her chills, knowing that those hands had just murdered a man in cold blood a handful of hours earlier. She couldn’t control how hot it made her, how insanely frantic she was to have him all over her all night long.

She slid her hand down his body to touch him, her heart pounding furiously in her chest as Jughead groaned.

The rumors had been true. Jughead was shockingly huge, and Veronica immediately felt a rush to her throbbing core wanting to feel every single inch of him as soon as possible.

Without her even having to say a word, Jughead picked her up and carried her to his bedroom before lowering her down onto his bed, his body on top of hers as he looked into her eyes.

“What do you want, Veronica?” He growled as the tip of his hard cock teased her, making her breathless with the need to have him inside of her.

“You _know_ what I want.” She panted as she wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to pull him closer, but to no avail. He wasn’t going to make this easy on her.

“Say it.” He rasped as she grabbed his cock in her hand, teasing him back.

Veronica bucked her hips to meet his, desperate for him.

“I want you to fuck me, Jones. _Please_ …I’m begging…”

She had said the right words, because without any hesitation, Jughead drove himself into her so hard that she let out a shout, not expecting the jolt of pain as her body attempted to adjust to his size.

“Oh my God…” She gasped as he pumped his hips relentlessly, filling her completely.

“Holy _shit_ …Jughead…oh… _God_ …yes… _yes_ ….” She moaned as she grabbed his biceps, bracing herself with every powerful thrust.

He was mind-blowingly good, to the point where her heart fluttered wildly, and she wondered if anyone had ever fainted before from being fucked so savagely.

And then his mouth was on her breast, sucking and licking her nipple so hard that she closed her eyes tight, lost in her pleasure, lost in him. She had never felt anything like this. She could feel her body building up to the most immaculate of orgasms, and she cried out over the sound of rolling thunder as she shook from her release.

Jughead clamped his mouth on her neck, nipping, licking the vein that ticked beneath her skin as he moved in and out of her deliberately slow. She moaned softly at how wonderful he felt. His cock was perfect, his mouth was divine, and she thanked the heavens above for creating Jughead Jones.

He felt as though he had been made just for her, and she would never be the same after tonight.

“Never stop fucking me, Jughead… _never_ _stop_ …” She sighed as she grabbed his ass in her hands, pushing him into her as deep as he could go.

“ _Shit_ …” He groaned softly in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“You’re incredible.” She said as she took his face in her hands and gazed into his remarkable blue eyes.

“You’re going to make me come if you keep looking at me like that, Lodge.”

Veronica chuckled.

“Do it. I _want_ to feel you coming inside of me.”

Jughead closed his eyes.

“Oh… _fuck_ …Veronica…” He panted, wincing as he let himself go before falling on to the bed next to her.

And without even thinking about it, she curled up next to him, sliding her leg in between his so her slick core was against his hip. She wanted him to feel her writhing against him, to know she’d be ready to go again whenever he was ready. She wouldn’t be able to get enough of him, but she sure as hell would enjoy trying.

\---

 

Jughead was sure he must be dreaming as he watched the way Veronica moved her body on top of him.

He splayed his hands over her firm ass while she rode him hard, moaning his name, her hands on his chest as her hair formed a curtain around her beautifully flushed face. She threw her head back, crying out from another orgasm, causing Jughead’s cock to twitch inside of her, wanting to come with her, but not wanting to stop either.

He’d had a lot of sex with a lot of different women, but none of them even came close to Veronica Lodge. She was utter perfection.

“I love riding your cock…oh _God_ …you feel _so good_ , Jughead…” She panted breathlessly as she continued to work him, her hips moving languidly as she ran her hands through her hair.

Jughead grimaced as she rode him, at how good she felt, how her rhythm made him crazy. He’d known she’d be amazing, but he hadn’t know just _how_ amazing. Veronica was next level, and he would never be able to go back to anything less than what he felt when he was with her.

He sat up so he could kiss her, unable to get enough of how extraordinary it felt to have her lips on his. To feel her mouth eager for his deep, sultry kisses that made him so hot that he knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold back the explosive orgasm that he was riding the edge of.

All it took was Veronica sighing in his ear.

“You make me so _wet_ , Jughead Jones.”

And that was it. He came hard inside of her as he wrapped an arm tightly around her, his mouth on her neck while he clutched her breast. She gasped before crying out, coming right along with him in a powerful rush of carnal pleasure and sweet exhaustion from hours of steamy, unbridled sex.

“ _Holy fuck_ …” Jughead murmured as he collapsed back down on his bed, trying to catch his breath.

Veronica sighed as she curled up next to him, her arm snaking around his torso as her leg nestled between his own.

The two were quiet as they listened to the storm, the thunder still rumbling over the heavy rain hitting Jughead’s cabin roof.

Jughead wondered if Veronica could hear how fast his heart was beating as she lay on his chest. He twirled her dark hair around his finger, still finding it incredibly hard to believe that she was actually in his home and in his bed, willingly.

“How did you find me?” He finally asked, breaking the silence.

Veronica chuckled.

“I had to wake up Toni and ask her. She said there was no way she could give me an address, because you don’t even have one. So she drew me a map.”

Jughead smiled to himself. He wasn’t sure if he should thank Toni later or be angry with her for giving away his location so easily to Veronica.

But it was hard to be angry when he finally had Veronica in his arms, something he never imagined would actually happen unless he had somehow made it a part of their “deal” to be under the protection of the Serpents. But he could never do that. It wasn’t his style.

He never wanted a woman to be with him if she didn’t want to be.

“It was dangerous for you to come out here in this weather.” Jughead replied, concerned.

The storm had been going on for hours, only letting up for small periods of time before starting all over again. It was strange how the weather seemed to coincide so similarly with what had been going on in his mind and his heart when it came to Veronica. He’d tried so hard to just leave her alone, to not pursue her anymore. He’d stopped following her, watching her. But when she had begun to reciprocate how he felt, it made it even harder to try and stay away. His thoughts deceived him constantly. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. It was as if he'd had a storm raging and relenting deep within him ever since she'd come back into his life.

And now she had given herself to him. He didn’t know what it meant. All he knew was that being with her, being vulnerable to her, could lead to his demise if he wasn’t careful.

“I was determined to get here. Some stupid storm wasn’t going to stop me.”

Jughead chuckled.

“I don’t think _anything_ wants to get in the way of Veronica Lodge.” He said as he turned to face her, pulling her body close to him.

Veronica sighed, closing her eyes at his touch.

“I _had_ to get to you, Jughead. I needed to be with you.”

\---

 

Veronica didn’t want to leave the cozy little cabin along Sweetwater River as the rain continued to fall in gentle sheets over the tall pines of the forest. Jughead had picked the most beautiful spot to make his home in. And she sighed to herself as she held a hot mug of coffee in her hands while Jughead slept soundly in his bed.

He had told her once that he never slept. And he wasn’t one to lie. She wondered if she had brought to him whatever peace he had needed to be able to finally rest.

She chuckled to herself wondering if she had really just managed to wear him out to the point where his body had forced him to shut down to recover before the next round. Because she had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

The sex was fucking fantastic. She had known it would be, she’d heard the rumors of Jughead’s abilities in the bedroom, but actually experiencing it first hand had been on a whole other level.

Veronica knew she was done for. She was so far gone for Jughead that there was no going back.

“I’m falling for you, Jug.” She whispered as she watched him sleep from the doorway of his bedroom.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

She sighed as she sat down on Jughead’s sofa and pulled out an old photo album. She began to look through it, smiling at pictures of Jughead as a kid. Pictures of him with Archie and Betty, with his little sister, Jellybean, and his mom and FP. There were even pictures from high school. And she felt her eyes tear up at a black and white photo of herself with Archie, Betty, and Jughead sitting in their favorite booth at Pop’s.

Those days seemed so long ago.

“Are you okay, Princess?”

She turned to see Jughead watching her, his black hair tousled from sex and sleep. His muscular body still completely bare. He made her heart stop for a split second before it began to pound at full force.

Veronica nodded.

“Yeah, I was just…looking at these old pictures. They remind me of how simple and easy life used to be. I know that sounds super cliché but…it’s true.”

Jughead took a seat next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“I know…it doesn’t seem real sometimes. I’ve even thought about leaving and going somewhere else. Somewhere...easier. I’ve heard of a few places off the map. Archie has connections…but…ultimately, I can’t make myself do it.”

Veronica looked up at him, the stress on his face was evident.

“There are too many people depending on you. You’re a natural leader, Jug. You’re amazing at it.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“Actually, the Serpents…well…we’re in trouble in a big way. It’s actually something I need to talk to you about.”

Veronica could see how worried he was, and it broke her heart.

“What is it?”

Jughead filled Veronica in on the situation with the bad pruno batches and how it would be a dangerous setback if they didn’t find a solution, and quick.

“I don’t want to have to give the Ghoulies our Whyt Wyrm stash. So when I had some of your champagne pruno last night, I was blown away. It’s incredible, Veronica.”

Veronica smiled bashfully. She hadn’t expected Jughead to be so impressed with what she had made for Cheryl and Toni’s wedding.

“I was hoping that…maybe we could work together? Maybe make your recipe our premiere drink if we can get enough of it made to sustain our business with the Ghoulies without them knowing what happened.”

Veronica’s heart fluttered at the thought of working alongside Jughead. There was no way she could say no.

“I’d be more than happy to help in any way I can, Jughead. I’m yours.”

Jughead smiled shyly at her and she realized she hadn’t seen that smile on his face since high school.

“In fact, right now at this very moment, I have about a dozen bags fermenting. It only takes two days for the process to complete. We can have a substantial amount to give to the Ghoulies by the time the shipment is due.”

The look of total relief on Jughead’s face made her stomach flip. He looked as if he could cry at her news.

“Veronica...I don't know how to thank you.” He said as he pulled her onto his lap, removing the blanket that she had been wrapped up in from her shoulders so he could gaze at her naked body.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, his cock getting hard beneath her as he licked her lips before going back in for another deep kiss.

She shifted her body so he was able to ease into her slowly. She still hadn’t gotten used to the way he filled her, to the point that she felt lightheaded each time his cock was buried inside of her. It felt brutally good.

“Oh…Jug…” She sighed as she began to rock her body on top of his.

“ _This_ is all the thanks I need.”

 

To be continued…

 


	8. Admitting the Truth

Veronica woke up alone, but she smiled when she realized she was still in Jughead’s bed even though he wasn’t in it with her.

He had made a fire in his bedroom fireplace and the sound of a light drizzle of rain on the roof made her want to curl up and go back to sleep, but not without Jughead next to her.

It was daylight, and she had no idea what time it was until she looked at her phone. It was already four o’clock in the afternoon and she had two missed calls from Toni.

“Are you still at Jughead’s?” Toni asked with a smile in her voice when Veronica called her back.

“Yes. I…uh…kind of got held up and lost track of time.” Veronica replied with a chuckle.

“I’ll say! When you didn’t show up for work, I started to wonder. And Jughead just got in a little bit ago. I guess he didn’t want to wake you.”

Veronica smiled to herself.

“Jughead is definitely a lot… _sweeter_ than I gave him credit for.” Veronica said as she looked around Jughead’s bedroom full of books and journals and newspaper articles.

She picked up his beanie that was laying on his dresser, it immediately brought back a flood of memories. She shook her head, never thinking she would end up spending the night with him, waking up so sated but so ready for more from the man she desired more than any man before.

Toni let out a quiet laugh.

“Well, speaking of sweet, when you get here, Jughead wants to talk about your champagne. So hurry up because after we talk to him, Cheryl and I have a short honeymoon to get to.”

Veronica said a quick goodbye before pulling on the change of clothes she had brought just in case she ended up spending the night with Jughead.

When she had showed up at his door the night before, she didn’t have a plan. All she knew was that she needed to get to him. She needed to see him.

And when he had opened the door, looking so menacing and yet so defeated, she couldn’t resist him. She had to be with him. Every bone, muscle, and nerve in her body yearned for him, begged for his touch, for his lips, for his body on hers. He was everything and more, and she could never want anything less than Jughead Jones.

Her heart slammed inside of her chest as she drove into the Serpent compound and parked her car near her work station building. Her hands trembled as she walked through the hall to the alcohol base of the Serpent operations. It had only been a few hours since she had last seen Jughead, but she was nervous as hell to see him outside of his secret hideaway, and back to reality from the fantasy she'd been living for the past 18 hours.

She didn’t know what to expect, or how to act. She didn’t know what her night with Jughead meant for the two of them, and the last thing she wanted to do was make any assumptions.

“Veronica! _Finally_!” Toni said with a sarcastic laugh when Veronica walked into the room to see Toni, Sweetpea, Fangs, Jinx, and Jughead all standing around with cups of her pruno in their hands.

She looked at Jughead, but he wore no expression on his face at the sight of her.

Veronica’s heart fell. As much as she tried to not have any expectations, she was still met with disappointment at his underwhelming reaction to seeing her.

“Veronica, this drink is _amazing_. And everyone was raving about it last night. And people got _so_ wasted too. It was perfect.” Fangs said with a laugh before taking another sip.

Veronica smiled appreciatively.

“I’m glad to hear it. I had no idea it would be such a success.”

Sweetpea scowled.

“Neither did I.” He grumbled, obviously still annoyed by Veronica’s sneaky method of making it without him knowing.

“Get over it, Pea.” Jinx said as he clapped Sweetpea on the back.

“Veronica has just saved our asses with this.”

Jughead nodded.

“I spoke to Malakai this morning. He’s interested in the new brew. I told him that due to the higher alcohol content of it, that our shipment would be significantly smaller. He was okay with it as long as our next shipment is a week earlier.” Jughead said as he glanced at Veronica.

“So what we need to do now is get more of it made as quickly as possible. Veronica, go ahead and write down the ingredients and recipe and we’ll get a team going. You will head it up, if that’s okay with you.”

Veronica looked at him, her pulse racing, unable to speak. All she could think about were his hands on her, the look on his face when he came, the way he moaned her name. She could feel her face getting warmer and warmer, right along with her suddenly aching core. She couldn’t believe what he was doing to her.

“Veronica?” Jughead asked, a puzzled look on her face.

“Um…yeah…sorry…I just…I just want to do this right. I know you all are depending on me.” She replied.

She looked over at Toni who was eyeing her with a smirk on her face. She knew exactly what was going on with Veronica in that moment.

Jinx gave Veronica a reassuring grin.

“Hey, you’ll do great. And maybe…after we get the shipment to the Ghoulies, you and I can celebrate your incredible accomplishment.” He said, the flirtation heavy in his words.

Veronica glanced at Jughead who was clenching his jaw as he stared at Jinx with daggers in his eyes.

She smiled.

“That would be _lovely_ , Jinx. Thank you.”

\---

Jughead waited impatiently for Veronica to leave the pruno room. He needed to talk to her, and privately.

Finally, he saw her walking down the hall, and as she passed by the alcove where he’d been waiting, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

“Holy shit! Jughead, what the _fuck_?” Her yelp echoed in the empty hallway.

“Mind telling me why you were shamelessly flirting with Jinx earlier?” He seethed as he backed her up against the alcove wall, blocking her in possessively.

“Jealous?” She asked with a satisfied smirk.

The way she looked at him drove him crazy. She was so dangerously sexy, and Jughead wasn’t sure what he was going to do now that he was so completely in love with her. She could be the death of him now.

“Fuck _yes_ , I’m jealous. You have thoroughly unhinged me with that shit, Veronica. You know how fucking insane I am when it comes to you. I’m fucking stalking you again for God’s sake.”

Veronica chuckled.

“Good. Because for a minute there I thought maybe last night didn’t mean anything to you.”

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Of course last night meant something to me. It meant _everything_ to me. But I can’t let anyone else see it. If they all knew how weak I am when it comes to you…they would only use it against me. I can’t afford to have any soft spots, Veronica.”

But Veronica glared at him.

“You already had a soft spot, long before me. And it seems like you still do.” She said with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Jughead looked at her, confused.

“And _what_ , pray tell, would _that_ be?” He asked, ready to challenge her assumption about him.

Veronica shrugged.

“It’s not like I don’t understand why you’d still have a fondness for Betty Cooper. I guess I’d just hoped you were over your past with her.”

Jughead couldn’t stop the laugh that came out of him at her reply.

“Seriously? You think Betty is my soft spot? God, you are _so_  fucking wrong. You know, for being as astute as you usually are, I’m surprised at you, Lodge.”

Veronica scowled.

“Why would I _not_ think that you still have feelings for her? I saw the way you two were ogling each other last night at the wedding.”

Jughead smiled as he wrapped his arms around Veronica’s waist and pulled her to him.

“I’ll always care about her. She means a lot to me. But…I _have_ let go of the past, Veronica. You _know_ how obsessed I am with you. That’s not likely to change anytime soon.”

But Veronica didn’t budge, not until Jughead’s hands were suddenly under her skirt, removing her panties so he could touch her.

“You wouldn’t be this wet if you were _really_ mad at me.” He said quietly as his fingers easily slid inside of her, causing Veronica to grip his shoulders, a soft gasp escaping her lips.

Veronica turned around and braced her hands on the wall.

“Just fuck me, Jughead. _Please_ …” She purred as she bent her hips slightly to give him the access he would need to fill her just as he had countless times the night before.

Jughead let out a guttural moan as he unzipped his jeans and grabbed her waist, easing into her so torturously slow that she softly begged him to hurry before she came without being properly fucked.

“Fucking you in the hallway is not what I should be doing if I want to keep you a secret.” He muttered as he plunged ruthlessly in and out of her while she softly whimpered with pleasure.

“Then you shouldn’t have been stalking me. Not…that I’m…complaining…” She replied between breathless pants.

It wasn’t long before they were both crying out in unison, coming together from the rushed sex session in the hallway of the Serpent compound.

“I should get back to work.” Veronica said with a satisfied grin as she pulled on her panties.

“And don’t worry, Jug. If I have a drink with Jinx, I’ll let you know beforehand. Just don’t kill him.”

Jughead gritted his teeth.

“Very funny.”

But he found himself smiling after Veronica kissed him softly on the lips.

“See you later, Jones.”

\---

 

“Thank you so much, Veronica. I really can’t thank you enough.” Ethel said as she and Veronica sat in the Whyt Wrym sharing a pizza and talking about everything that had happened with Chuck.

“Jughead said you can stay here as long as you like. And if you want to work with us, you certainly can. The trades are pretty easy. We don’t really have a work schedule, we just have to have shipments ready by their deadlines.”

Ethel nodded as Veronica explained life living safely in the Serpent compound.

“And you can keep living in my apartment too, since Toni and Cheryl are getting their own place together now that they are newlyweds.”

Ethel smiled.

“I just…I can’t believe all of this is happening, Veronica. I can’t believe Chuck is dead.”

Veronica nodded, grinning happily at her old friend.

“Believe it. You won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Ethel sighed.

“The only thing now, is trying to find a way to shut down the brothel. Chuck had people running that place that will continue to keep running it regardless of if he’s alive or dead. Jughead isn’t the first person to go after Chuck, even if he _was_ the last.”

It was Veronica’s turn to sigh.

“Shit, I didn’t even think about that. I guess I figured the whole place would implode without Chuck. What should we do?”

Ethel thought for a minute.

“We need to warn everyone else who works there, somehow. And then...”

She paused for a brief moment.

“And then burn the bitch to the ground.”

Veronica nodded.

“Okay, we’ll do it. We’ll do whatever we have to do. I want your nightmare to be over for good.”

Ethel leaned over and gave Veronica a tight hug.

“You’re an angel, Ronnie. In this world completely overrun with evil and hate, you are truly a godsend.”

Veronica wasn’t sure about that, but there was one thing she did know without a doubt, that no one deserved to suffer the way Ethel and everyone else at the brothel had suffered. She would make it her mission to help the best way she could. And she knew it was only possible because of Jughead.

She couldn’t help but wonder where Jughead was, what he was doing. She hadn’t heard from him ever since they’d had their tryst in the hallway. She knew he was busy, but she found herself anxious to hear from him. In one way, she hoped he was in a corner somewhere watching her the way he used to. As much as she tried to seem creeped out by his obsession of her, she wasn’t.

In fact, if she was being completely honest with herself, she was just as obsessed with Jughead as he was with her.

“So…are you in love with him?”

Veronica was brought out of her reverie by Ethel’s question, and her heart fluttered thinking about her answer to it.

“With Jughead?” Veronica asked, unable to hide the smile on her face.

Ethel chuckled.

“Um, yes, with Jughead.” Ethel replied, grinning at Veronica as if she already knew the answer.

Veronica nodded. There was no use refusing the truth. She knew exactly how she felt about Jughead Jones, and with no hesitation.

“Yes, I am. I’m completely and undeniably in love with him.”

 

To be continued…

 

 


	9. Gunning for Him

“The word is going around that you killed Chuck Clayton. Is that true, Juggy?”

Jughead sighed as Betty sat across from him in his basement office of the Whyt Wyrm. The office he rarely was ever in, but Betty had wanted to talk to him so he’d made the time to see her.

“Yeah, it’s true, Betts. But what did you expect? You told me how fucking horrible he was. What else was I supposed to do?”

Betty looked at him in disbelief as she threw her hands up in the air, exasperated.

“I don’t know, Jug! Maybe just find another way? Now you have who _knows_ how many people out there gunning for you. Chuck brought a lot of business to a lot of people.”

Jughead shrugged.

“I can handle myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I’m still here.”

But Betty eyed him curiously.

“You sure you didn’t just off him because Veronica had brought him to the wedding as her date?”

Jughead stayed silent as he sat back in his chair.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you? And you used Chuck’s disgusting brothel business as an excuse to kill him to get him away from Veronica.”

Jughead sighed.

“What do you want me to say, Betty? That I’m still just as fucked up as people say I am? That I randomly kill people in a jealous rage?”

Betty nodded.

“Yeah, because that would be part of the _truth_. Have you told her yet? Have you told her about your BPD?”

Jughead shook his head no.

He hadn’t had the nerve yet to tell Veronica that he’d been suffering from borderline personality disorder ever since he’d joined the Serpents in high school. He had worked hard to earn the fear and respect from nearly everyone in Riverdale and the last thing he wanted was for anyone to know that he dealt with a tremendously stressful mental illness on a daily basis. He'd rather people think he was just violently crazy rather than weak.

It was why he had a tendency to become so abnormally obsessed with Veronica. His insecurities were off the charts and he found himself thinking that he could be okay with feeling worthless if someone like Veronica loathed him as much as he loathed himself. But he knew it was fucked up, and it had backfired on him when Veronica began to look at him differently, had come to him and wanted to sleep with him. How she felt about him beyond sex, he wasn't sure, but he suddenly realized that he didn’t want her to hate him anymore.

He knew he had a problem with being angry and impulsive. It had gotten so bad that it seemed as if the only thing that helped was when his anger and aggression seemed to come out whenever he was inflicting cold-blooded murder on anyone that crossed his path, and that he felt deserved to die.

But the relief he felt afterwards was only temporary.

He had tried medications, but nothing had seemed to work. He didn’t know what it would take for him to ever feel normal, to feel good. It seemed impossible, and it was agonizing.

The best he’d felt in a long time had been when he was with Veronica, when they had been alone together in his cabin.

“Do you love her, Juggy?” Betty asked as she looked at him closely.

She wasn’t going to take silence as an answer.

Jughead sighed as he looked her in the eyes.

“Yes.” He replied quietly.

Admitting it out loud was outrageously difficult for him to do, especially admitting it to Betty of all people.

Betty nodded, as if she'd known what his answer would be, but it hadn't hurt any less. And the sadness in her eyes was obvious and heartbreaking as he looked at her.

“Then...you need to tell her the truth.” She said as she looked down at her hands.

Jughead prayed she wouldn’t cry. He didn’t think he could handle it.

“She already knows what you do for a living. She already knows about your body count. Telling her about your BPD should be a walk in the park. So tell her, Jug, because she deserves to know...and if she loves you back...then you deserve to be happy.”

Jughead nodded.

“Thank you, Betts.”

He stood up and walked over to give her a hug before saying goodbye. Hugs weren’t something Jughead did much of, but Betty would always be an exception.

He could sense the hurt Betty was feeling by how stiffly she hugged him back, as if she was guarding herself. He hated causing her any pain by telling her the truth about what he felt for Veronica, but he knew he had to be honest. He cared about her far too much to lie to her.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Came the familiar, embarrassed, voice of Veronica as Jughead jerked his head toward the doorway of his office.

“I…I’ll just go.”

But before she could shut the door behind her, Betty spoke up.

“No, no. It’s okay, Veronica. I was just about to leave.”

Veronica smiled weakly, as if the hug she had just witnessed had meant something more than it did. Jughead wanted to explain, but Veronica wouldn’t even look at him.

“I’ll walk you out. I feel _awful_ that we didn’t get a chance to talk at the wedding, Betty.” Veronica said with a forced smile as she followed Betty out into the hallway and up the stairs.

Jughead sat back down in his chair, hoping Veronica would return, but knowing that she likely wouldn’t.

\---

 

“ _Look_ , I have let go of a _lot_ of shit between us from the past, but I am _not_ going to relive it when it comes to Jughead. So don’t come back here, Betty. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay as far away from Jughead as possible.”

Betty wasn’t able to hide her surprise at Veronica’s veiled threat.

“ _Wow_ , you’re not even joking, are you?”

Veronica narrowed her eyes at her former best friend.

“Hell _no_ , I’m not joking. I refuse to let you try to get your hooks into him again just because you never got over him.”

Betty shook her head, smirking.

“You think you know him _so_ well, huh? You think you know what he needs and what’s best for him? Well, I hate to disappoint you, Veronica, but you don’t know him as well as you think you do. And I’m not going anywhere. I will _always_ be in Jughead’s life. We matter to each other. I’m not just some glitzy flash-in-the-pan eye candy that he’ll forget about in a week or two.”

Veronica’s hands balled into fists as she glared at Betty.

“You and Jughead might have a friendship, Betty, but that’s all it is and all it will _ever_ be. There’s more between us than just a one night stand, so don’t think I’m going anywhere anytime soon, because I’m not. I will fight for him tooth _and_ nail, Cooper.”

The sudden look of sorrow on Betty’s face when Veronica mentioned her night with Jughead wasn’t as gratifying as she thought it would be. She knew how it felt to be in love with someone that didn’t love you back the way you wanted them to. She knew how much it hurt.

But she meant what she said. She wouldn’t give up Jughead without a fight, if there was a fight to be had.

“I didn’t come here to go eye for an eye with you, Veronica. I understand that what I did to you hurt you a lot. But Archie and I never made it work. You were right, nothing good would come out of how we had betrayed you. But Jughead…he’s different. And I’ll protect him at all costs. Which is why I came here.”

Veronica relaxed her hands, suddenly uneasy with whatever it was Betty had to say.

“You and Jughead made a real mess with your setup of Chuck Clayton. His associates are primed and ready to avenge him. So Jughead is basically a walking target. Way to go, V. Your stupid plan now has the potential to be Jughead’s demise.” Betty replied with a worried scowl on her face.

Veronica could feel the breath leave her body at Betty’s words. The last thing Veronica had wanted to do was to put Jughead in harm's way.

“I’ll make it right, Betty. Ethel and I already have a plan. Jughead won’t have to get his hands any dirtier than he already has with this mess I’ve made.”

Betty shook her head emphatically as she grabbed Veronica’s shoulders.

“ _Don’t_ try to do this alone, Veronica. If something happens to you…Jughead will…he’ll spiral. Let him help you and then you can put it all behind you. Let it be a lesson learned.”

Veronica nodded. She understood that what she was planning to do was dangerous, but she felt beyond guilty that she had involved Jughead in something that hadn’t turned out as seamlessly as she had hoped.

“Okay, B. I won’t do it alone.”

\---

 

Jughead leaned against the wall in the pruno fermenting room, watching as Veronica’s team made up the batches of the apricot champagne they had yet to give a name to. The Serpents had never named any of their previous brews, but Veronica had insisted that they name her special batch something that stood out to the people who would be purchasing it and drinking it. It was a classic Veronica thing to do.

He wanted to think of a name for it, something that would do it justice, something that showed how appreciative he was of how she’d saved him from giving the Ghoulies any indication that there was panic amongst the Serpents when it came to their number one trade.

But so far, he hadn’t been able to concentrate long enough to come up with anything. And it didn’t help that he kept wondering where Veronica was. He hadn’t seen her since she’d walked in on him hugging Betty.

She had been clearly upset by what she’d seen, and Jughead’s first instinct had been to tell her that the hug was harmless. It didn’t mean what he knew Veronica would think it meant. But he hadn’t gotten that chance.

He’d hung outside her apartment that night, waiting and watching in the shadows as he often had before. But he never saw her.

Jughead hoped she’d show up at his cabin. He’d sat wondering, waiting some more, and hoping he’d hear a knock on his door like he had before.

But no knock came. No Veronica.

And now she wasn’t at work. It was the first day of her leading her own crew, making her successful concoction, having a say in Serpent business. He should have known she would reach this point so quickly. She was Hiram Lodge’s daughter after all. She was just as savvy as her father, and Jughead found himself feeling incredibly lucky to have her around. And in more ways than one.

But as the minutes ticked by, and Veronica still hadn't shown up, he grew more and more worried. He couldn’t imagine that she was still upset with him. It wasn’t like her to stay away from him. They were magnetic when it came to each other. The pull was too strong to be able to fight it. He couldn’t deny her any more than she could deny him.

Jughead wished Cheryl and Toni were around so he could ask them if they knew of her whereabouts, but the two newlyweds were on their honeymoon. And he didn’t have a way to contact Ethel. He pulled out his phone for the hundredth time, hoping she would have called or texted him. But she hadn’t.

So he called her instead, but her phone went directly to voicemail.

“What the _fuck_?!” He yelped, doing his best to control himself from chucking his phone across the room.

The heads of Veronica’s team shot up, panicked eyes staring at him, hoping they weren’t doing something wrong. That the Serpent King wasn’t about to go ape shit on them for messing up the batches.

Jughead walked out of the room and down the corridor, pacing up and down angrily, trying to keep it together but the feelings were overwhelming.

He needed to calm down but he didn’t know how. He had thought that he and Veronica were starting something between the two of them. Something real, something special. But he wondered if he had already managed to ruin everything. He agonized over wondering if she felt as though it had all been a big mistake. If she was done with him, he wasn’t sure what he would do. But he knew it wouldn’t be good.

At that moment, he wished more than anything that one of his enemies were right in front of him. Someone he could take his rage out on, to destroy. Instead, he slammed his fist through a stack of crates, splitting his knuckles as splinters dug into his skin.

He had to find out where she was and why she wasn’t talking to him. He had to know the truth about how she felt, and he wanted her to know the truth about him. All of the truth.

 

To be continued...


	10. The Rescue

It was past midnight as Veronica and Ethel stayed hidden by a cluster of trees, staring up at the old Blossom residence known as Thistle House. It was rundown, completely dilapidated from years of neglect, but it was still one of the most beautiful homes in Riverdale.

“ _This_ is where the brothel has been all this time? Does Cheryl know?”

Ethel shrugged.

“Probably not. When the Blossoms were run out of Riverdale, they abandoned everything. Cheryl had already been with the Serpents for quite a while at that point. Whether she knows or not, I don’t think she’d care.”

Veronica shook her head, beyond disappointed to see the glorious home in so much ruin. And to know it was a place that could only be likened to hell on earth. As sad as she would be to see Cheryl’s old house burn to the ground, she also couldn’t wait to torch the place.

“We need to try to make it to the third floor. That’s where all the rooms are. We need to try and get everyone to come with us, and then get out as fast as we can.”

Veronica nodded.

“Should we worry about cameras or anything?” Veronica asked, concerned.

Ethel shook her head no.

“Chuck didn’t use them. No one ever bothered with us so he didn’t see the point. It was an expense he wasn’t willing to spare.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. Chuck really _had_ thought he was untouchable, and she realized just how stupid he had been. The world was definitely a better place without him.

The two women quietly crept out of the line of trees that surrounded the former Blossom property, each carrying two full cans of gasoline in each hand. Veronica knew four cans weren’t a lot, but it would have to be enough for what they needed to do. The two circled around the house pouring the gas in the places they knew would catch fire the quickest.

“The shutters…they’re wood. Pour some on those.” Veronica said in hushed tones to Ethel as they continued to slink quietly around the home.

Finally they had run out of the gas, so Ethel motioned for Veronica to follow her to a cellar in the back.

“We can go in through here. Did you bring the bolt cutters?”

Veronica nodded as she pulled the large tool out of the backpack she was carrying.

It was dark as they entered the underground cellar, but Veronica followed behind Ethel as she led the way with a small flashlight in her hand.

“There’s a door up these steps. It’s locked from the outside. We just need to break the lock and then we can get in. We’ll take the back staircase up to the third floor. If anyone gets in our way…you know what to do.”

Veronica felt for the knife she had strapped to her thigh. She wished more than anything that she could have gotten her hands on a gun. But getting guns were hard to come by after the government had ordered a mass ocean dump of all firearms. Very few people were able to find a way to stash what they could, so guns had become massively expensive. Veronica didn’t know if the Serpents even had any. She’d only ever seen them carrying knives. So she had taken one of Toni's to carry with her, just in case.

The two girls climbed the stairs silently until they’d reached the door that led into the house. Veronica braced herself on the steps as she opened the bolt cutters and snapped them closed, popping off the padlock as Ethel caught it before it clattered to the steps below.

“That was easy enough.” Veronica whispered as she put the bolt cutters back in her bag.

Ethel slowly opened the door to an empty basement.

“Let’s go.” She mouthed to Veronica as they stepped through the doorway.

Veronica followed closely behind Ethel as the two climbed the stairs to a pantry on the first floor kitchen.

“The back staircase is right outside this pantry. I’ll check and make sure we’re clear.” Ethel whispered before slowly opening the pantry door and peeking out into a kitchen that Veronica was sure was rarely used for much besides cooking up crack and heroin.

Ethel motioned for Veronica to follow her and the two made it to the back staircase without being detected.

It was dark, but neither dared to shine a flashlight, instead they felt through the dark with their hands as they made their way up higher and higher through the old house.

Finally, Ethel stopped and cracked open a door leading into a dimly lit hallway, strings of red twinkling lights hung from the ceilings, setting the mood of a brothel the devil himself would be at home in.

“Once we get everyone gathered, they’ll have to follow us out the way we came in. This is the tricky part, Veronica. Are you ready?”

Veronica gave Ethel a nod. Even though her heart was beating out of control, her pulse racing. She was in this to fix the mistake she had made in trying to go after Chuck Clayton to begin with, and dragging Jughead into it as well, never expecting it could all fall to pieces around her.

Ethel and Veronica went door to door throughout the floor of sex rooms. Luckily, they had come at a time of night when there were no clients, all in an effort to get the workers out without setting off any suspicion.

Each door Veronica knocked on, she was met with sleepy, strung out men and women who were completely confused as to what was going on.

“I can explain later. We’re just here to get you out and get you away from this place before we set this bitch on fire.”

Veronica wasn’t greeted with as much alarm as she was expecting, but it didn’t matter as long as the drug addict employees of Chuck Clayton were following her to the doorway of the back staircase.

“Do we have everyone?” Veronica asked Ethel as they met back up.

Ethel shook her head no.

“We have everyone except Claudia. She must be getting a fix down in one of the offices.”

Veronica sighed. Somehow she’d known this wasn’t going to go as smoothly as she had hoped.

“Okay, let’s get everyone else out and we’ll come back and get her.”

Veronica was on pins and needles as they helped everyone they had rescued to get back down the stairs in the dark. She was sure that at any moment, someone would hear them and they’d be caught. As it was, they were trapped like a bunch of zoo animals in the narrow stairway.

But she breathed a sigh of relief as they made it outside of the cellar and into the night.

“Ethel, take them all to Pop’s. He’ll call Archie for us and Archie will find them all a place to be detoxed. I’ll get Claudia and be right behind you.”

Ethel looked at Veronica, concerned.

“Are you sure, Veronica? I know that place like the back of my hand. It would be safer for us both if I go instead.”

But Veronica shook her head.

“They all know you and trust you.” She said as she motioned towards where the group stood huddled together, waiting to get as far away from Thistle House as possible.

“And I have the map. I’ll be okay. Just get going.”

Ethel sighed.

“ _Fine_.” She replied reluctantly.

“Just, _please_ be careful, Veronica. Jughead will literally  _kill_ me if something happens to you.”

Veronica gave Ethel a reassuring smile before she turned back around, looking up as the house loomed over her. She checked the map one last time. The offices were on the first floor just past the kitchen. She’d have to find Claudia in one of the six different offices before they could walk away from the house for good.

It felt like some surreal, fucked up game. But this wasn't a game. This was all too real.

Now that Veronica was on her own, she would have to light the house on fire before she could head back in. She walked around quickly, watching the flames ignite as she flung lit matches on the places where she and Ethel had poured the gasoline.

Once she was back at the open cellar door, she ran inside and back up the stairs and up through the basement to the kitchen pantry. She opened the door quietly, praying the kitchen was still empty.

And it was. She slowed her breathing, doing her best to not panic as she saw flames licking the windows outside of the expansive kitchen. She walked through the kitchen to a hallway lined with doors. The offices where Claudia must be.

She put her ear up against the first door, but she heard nothing, and saw no crack of light coming from under it, so she moved to the next, and then the next. Finally, she heard moaning coming from the fourth door and she cracked it open slowly.

There, sitting slumped on the floor up against an old secretary’s desk was a girl with dark hair wearing a thin, silk dress. Her legs and arms were so bony that Veronica could only imagine how long it had been since she’d had a good meal.

“Claudia?”

The girl slowly lifted her head. She was obviously completely strung out on something extremely potent. Her eyes were glassy, with dark circles underneath them and her nose was red as if she’d been rubbing it so much that it was nearly raw.

“Who the _fuck_ are _you_?” asked the girl who had to be none other than the Claudia they were looking for.

But before Veronica could speak, she heard a man’s voice behind her.

“That’s what _I’d_ like to know.”

\---

Jughead didn’t want to do what he was about to do, but he was desperate.

He banged on the door three times before pausing and banging one last time. The special knock that would indicate to Archie and his team that it was none other than his oldest friend in the world.

Suddenly, the metal door flew open and Jughead was whisked inside the musty, underground workspace of Archie Andrews.

“Jughead! What brings _you_ here?” Fred Andrews asked as he looked Jughead over.

It had been a long time since Jughead had come knocking, but he didn’t know where else to turn. He had to find out where Veronica was and the one person who had eyes and ears everywhere was Archie.

“I need to talk to Arch _immediately_. Is he around?” Jughead asked anxiously.

Fred looked at him with sudden worry on his aging face at Jughead's panicked tone.

Fred had been helping Archie with his underground people moving business ever since Archie had started it. Fred would always be the one person Archie could trust above anyone else. Even above Jughead.

Fred shook his head no, causing Jughead’s heart to fall to the pit of his stomach.

“I’m sorry son, he actually just left a little bit ago. Seems Pop got an influx of some sex workers that escaped that drug brothel that Chuck Clayton’s gang runs.”

Jughead stared at Fred Andrews, trying to make sense of what Archie’s father had just told him.

“How did they escape?” Jughead asked, suddenly aware of the fact that he might know exactly where it was that Veronica could be.

Fred shrugged.

“I’m not sure. All I know is that it was Ethel Muggs who brought them in and asked Pop to call Archie so he could find a detox place for them. So Archie left with his team and a van to go pick them up. He’s probably still there if you want to go catch him.”

Jughead wasn’t sure if he should feel as relieved as he was, but knowing that Veronica might be at Pop’s too was enough to send him running with barely a goodbye to Archie’s old man.

He jumped on his motorcycle and sped to the place he had once frequented on a daily basis, eating burgers and hanging out with his friends. Late nights drinking coffee and writing stories and articles for the Blue and Gold on his laptop. Weekend mornings with his mom, dad, and Jellybean having breakfast. Pop’s had been like a second home to him.

But just like with everything else, the classic mid-century Chock’lit Shoppe had changed too.

Sure, it was still standing; even through all of the riots and break-ins. But Pop no longer ran it as a place of nostalgia and stability. It was now a place for the dejected and destitute. People who had nothing and nowhere to go. Pop fed them all, no matter where they’d come from or what they’d done. He was truly a saint.

There was a smattering of vagrants drinking soup from mugs and eating Spam sandwiches when Jughead arrived at the soup kitchen. He looked around frantically for Archie among them, but didn’t see the shock of familiar red hair anywhere.

So Jughead circled to the back of the building, breathing a sigh of relief when he found Archie’s black van being loaded with men and women still in their bed clothes.

“Archie! Arch!” Jughead yelped as he looked around.

Suddenly, Archie poke his head out of the driver’s side of the van, a look of concern on his face.

“Jug? Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but, what are you doing here?”

Jughead’s eyes scanned the area for Veronica, or even Ethel, but there was no sign of either girl.

“Are these the people from Chuck’s place?” Jughead asked frantically.

Archie nodded.

“Yeah, Pop called me. Apparently Ethel brought them in. But she just left a minute ago. I’m taking them somewhere safe. Why?” Archie asked, obviously confused as to why Jughead was wanting to know about the people whose former boss Jughead had murdered so viciously just a few nights earlier.

“Was Veronica with Ethel? Was Veronica here?”

Archie shook his head.

“No, man. Why would Veronica have been here? Was she working for Chuck?”

Jughead sighed, but he wanted to scream. Not knowing where Veronica could be was driving him utterly mad with worry. He could feel his chest constricting with anxiety and fear. He didn’t know what he would do if he never found her.

Losing Veronica would be the one and only thing that could kill him.

“Veronica? Black hair? Beautiful face? Amazing body?”

Jughead looked over to see a thin, weary looking young man with shaggy brown hair listening to his conversation with Archie. Jughead gritted his teeth at his description of Veronica, but he knew he couldn’t punch this guy who had just gone through hell just because he appreciated her beauty.

“Yes.” Jughead and Archie replied in unison.

The two friends glared at each other before turning back to the drugged out, former prostitute.

“She saved my life, man. She got me out of that Thistle House hell. She stayed behind to find Claudia. But I don’t know if she’ll make it out of there. Claudia wasn’t alone.”

Jughead could feel the panic rising up like a bile in his body, his pulse ticking uncontrollably.

“I’m coming with you, Jug. You can’t go in there alone.” Archie said, knowing Jughead so well that he knew exactly what his childhood best friend was thinking.

“She’s _mine_ , Archie. _I’ll_ be the one that saves her.”

And with that, he ran to his waiting motorcycle and took off for Thistle House to find the woman he loved and get her out of the danger she was in, no matter what the cost would be.

 

To be continued…

 


	11. Escape

Veronica turned around slowly to see a tall, muscular man wearing a tanktop and dark jeans. He had the body of a pro-wrestler, a haircut like a military solider, and wore an angry face with a scar on his left cheek.

“Who are _you_?” He asked as he looked over Veronica as if he wasn’t sure if he should feel he was in jeopardy or had lucked out to have come upon the raven-haired intruder.

“Introductions won’t matter if we don’t get out of here as soon as possible. I’ve set this house on fire. _Literally_. And Claudia is coming with _me_.”

The man smirked at her. He definitely wasn’t taking Veronica seriously. Her heart raced so fast she felt as though she might potentially pass out. But she had to keep it together. She had to get through this and get out of the house before the blaze she’d started really began to be a threat.

“Oh, you think so, huh?” He asked with a laugh.

“Sorry, baby, but she ain’t going anywhere. And neither are you.” He replied as he started towards where Veronica was crouched down by the strung out Claudia.

Veronica quickly stood up as she grabbed her knife that was still strapped to her thigh from its sheath.

“ _Don’t_ take another step towards me. I’m a Serpent.” She said as she held the knife, her stance ready to defend herself however she had to.

The man stopped suddenly.

“You… _you’re_ the bitch that setup Chuck to be murdered by that fuckwad, Jughead Jones."

He didn't wait for Veronica to confirm or deny if he was right as a hateful sneer covered his face.

"Oh _honey_ , do I have plans for you. You’ve royally fucked up our business, and we don’t take kindly to those that screw with our livelihood.”

Veronica could feel her legs shaking as she stared down Chuck’s replacement.

“Just let her go, Trev.” Came the weak voice of Claudia as she attempted to try and stand up.

The man known as Trev, who suddenly looked very familiar to Veronica, as if maybe she had known him from the old days, glared at Claudia as he watched her finally make it to her feet.

“Get the _fuck_ out of here you junkie whore. I don’t need you anymore now that I have this gem. And oh _my_ …this night just took a _very_ interesting turn.”

Veronica watched in horror as Claudia left the room. Leaving her alone with Trev. She silently prayed that maybe there was a chance that Claudia would go and get help. but something told her not to hope too hard.

And things only got worse when Trev slowly pulled out a .40 caliber handgun from his back pocket.

“Put the knife away, precious. You won’t be needing that.” Trev said as he got a devilish grin on his face that made Veronica sick to her stomach.

Veronica did as Trev told her as he trained his gun on her.

“That’s a good girl. Let’s go.”

Veronica started towards Trev but before she had even gotten to where he stood, he reached out and violently yanked her by her arm.

“Ow! That fucking hurts, you fucking asshole!” She yelped as she tried to pull away from his grasp.

But it was hopeless. His grip tightened and she knew struggling would be pointless.

Trev kept his gun to her head as he led Veronica through the house to another office. But as he opened the door, smoke billowed out into the hallway, immediately eliciting a fit of coughs from Veronica and her captor.

“You fucking bitch!” He bellowed as he jerked Veronica like a ragdoll back down the hallway and out through the kitchen.

Glass was all over the floor, crunching beneath their feet from the windows that had broken from the pressure of the fire outside the house. Flames licked and rolled in through the now open windows and Veronica could feel the sting of heat on her face as Trev paused, trying to decide where they could escape to.

“The pantry. It leads to the basement and the cellar.” Veronica croaked as hot sweat began to roll down her temples.

“Why should I believe you, you _stupid_ bitch?” Trev seethed as he pulled her head back by her hair to look at her.

Veronica fought the urge to cry out from the pain.

“Because it’s how I got in here in the first place, meathead.” She replied through clenched teeth.

It was all she could do to hold back the tears from how much pain she was in as Trev pushed the barrel of his gun into her ribcage.

“Show me.” He said as he pushed her ahead of him.

Veronica walked ahead to the pantry and opened the door to find the doorway to the basement still open. The door that led to freedom, if she could just get away from Trev somehow.

She walked down the steps slowly, at Trev’s command, before reaching the bottom of the dark basement. It was so dark, in fact, that she knew she could make a run for it and he wouldn’t see where she’d gone.

But before she could even make a move, Trev turned a flashlight right onto her face, blinding her.

“Didn’t think I'd come prepared for some bullshit, baby? Oh I _always_ come prepared.”

Veronica’s heart leapt to her throat as Trev shone the light on a condom in his hand.

“Take your clothes off.” He demanded.

But Veronica didn’t move.

“Don’t forget I have a gun, bitch. And I _will_ use it.” He said with a chuckle.

“I can still fuck you while you bleed out.”

Veronica could feel her lip quivering, but she refused to cry as she removed her leather jacket and placed it carefully on the floor. If only she could grab her knife without Trev noticing.

“Could you shine the light on my shoes so I can see to untie them?” She asked, hopeful that Trev would buy her ruse, and silently thanking herself for choosing to wear her lace up boots for the break-in.

But then, out of nowhere, came an eerily calm voice.

“That won’t be necessary, Veronica.”

The tears she had been trying so desperately to hold back, came pouring out like a flood when she heard Jughead say her name.

She let the tears fall silently, not wanting Jughead to know just how afraid she’d been, as she grabbed her knife again.

“Get your jacket and get out of here while I deal with this poor excuse for a pimp.”

Trev shone his flashlight around, but he couldn’t seem to land the beam of light on Jughead. But Jughead was there. Veronica could feel his presence like a surge of electricity through her entire body.

“No. I want to help end this asshole for everything he’s done. I want to bury my knife in his gut and twist until he screams.”

Jughead’s cool chuckle made her feel an ache of desire for him all the way down to her core. She never would have thought that murder could be such an aphrodisiac.

“F-fuck…fuck you both. I won’t go down without a fight.” Trev said as he held up his gun.

But before he could fire, it was kicked out of his hand and went skittering across the cement floor of the basement.

Veronica laughed.

“Oh, so what are going to do now without your toy, Trev?” She asked as she held up her knife and stepped closer to where he stood.

Trev didn’t move until Veronica had the blade merely inches away from his stomach as the flashlight beam bounced off the knife like a beacon in the dark. He tried to step back, but was unable to. Something was behind him, blocking him.

“Ugh…” Trev gasped as Jughead’s knife slid into his lower back so smoothly, it was almost surgical.

The flashlight clattered to the floor, but Veronica bent down to pick it up, already noticing the pool of blood gathering at Trev’s feet.

“He’s still alive, babe. Would you like to do the honors?”

Veronica nodded as she took the flashlight and shone it in Trev’s face.

“I’d love to.” She replied as she gripped Toni’s knife tightly in her hand. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, the back of her head hurt from the tension, but she wasn’t going to allow herself to back down. She was going to do this. She wanted to do this.

“Good riddance, motherfucker.” She said quietly as he drove her knife into Trev’s hard stomach with one hard push.

“Ahhh! _Fuck_ … _fuck_ _you_ … _bitch_ …” He yelped, wincing as Veronica kept the flashlight steady with one hand, while the other turned the knife, twisting it inside of him, just as she had promised.

She watched as Trev’s eyes rolled back in his head and his body started to go limp. She quickly pulled her knife out of his gut as he fell to the cold, hard floor.

“Oh my God…” She whispered.

She wasn’t sure what she felt in that moment, but she knew she suddenly felt a lot safer than she had just ten minutes earlier.

“We need to get the fuck out of here before we get trapped in this burning pile of bricks.” Jughead said, urgently as he grabbed Veronica’s hand and led her down the steps to the cellar and back outside into the night.

The blast of cool air on her face was one of the most wonderful things she had ever felt. Next to being naked with Jughead. She gazed at his back as he led her away from the house. He was her hero, once again, but she had no idea how pissed off he might be with her. And she felt a terrible guilt at dragging him into her mess once again.

Veronica sighed as she looked behind her, but not stopping as Jughead kept his hand clasped in hers.

Thistle House was in flames, but so far only up to the second floor. Window were cracked and blown out, the brick was charred all across the outer walls as one side of the front of the home was beginning to collapse.

“Did you fucking do that?” Jughead asked her as he handed her his spare bike helmet.

Veronica looked at him and nodded, unable to find her voice to speak. She prayed she hadn’t completely messed things up with him, that he didn’t hate her for what she had done.

He scowled at her.

“Get on the bike. We need to get out of here _now_.”

Veronica kept her arms tightly around Jughead’s waist as they rode away from the burning destruction of Cheryl’s former home.

But they hadn’t gone far when Jughead pulled over into an abandoned gas station. He jumped off of his motorcycle and stood with his back to her, not saying a word.

Veronica slid off of the back of the bike and unclasped her helmet before removing it, shaking out her hair and hoping she didn’t look like a total nightmare. She knew he was mad. And she knew he had every right to be.

She approached him slowly before placing a hand on his back, but he quickly turned around and glared at her.

“What the _hell_ were you thinking, Veronica?! Were you even thinking at all?” He shouted as he threw his helmet angrily onto the ground.

Veronica could feel a fresh set of tears playing at the corners of her eyes.

“Jug…I’m…I’m sorry. I was just trying to fix things. I know I messed up. But I just wanted—“

She was suddenly cut off when Jughead abruptly pulled her to him, wrapping her up in his arms, holding her so close she could hardly breathe.

“You scared the fucking _shit_ out of me, Veronica. I thought…I thought I had lost you.”

Veronica sighed, her body finally relaxing as his arms enveloped her in that way that made her feel a peace she had never known before.

“You couldn’t lose me if you tried.” She said as she looked up at him, her arms snaking around his neck.

Jughead shook his head.

“You’re crazy.” He said with a chuckle.

Veronica smiled.

“Kiss me anyway.”

Jughead slanted his mouth on hers, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth as she parted her lips for him, willingly allowing him to kiss her deeply, feverishly as she cupped his face in her hands while he grabbed her ass in his. She smiled against his mouth.

“Can we go somewhere to fuck each other’s brains out already?” She asked breathlessly as her hands wove into his dark hair.

“Anything you say, boss.”

 

To be continued...


	12. Saved

“Oh… _Jug_ …” Veronica sighed as Jughead made love to her in the hours of the morning that were so early that even the crickets were no longer chirping.

He peppered light kisses along her collarbone, thrusting smoothly and slowly, wanting to take it easy on her bruised body.

“I wish we could kill him again for what he did to you.” Jughead had said when he’d seen the bruises beginning to form on Veronica’s ribcage and arms from being grabbed and poked with Trev’s gun.

“I’m okay, Jughead. That’s all that matters.” She’d replied as she looked at him, her heart fluttering wildly.

If Jughead hadn’t shown up when he did, Trev might have raped her, maybe even killed her, and the thought gave her chills.

Being safe with Jughead made her realize just how stupid she had been to go into Chuck’s brothel and try to take it down singlehandedly after Ethel had left.

“ _Please_ don’t ever do anything like that ever again.” Jughead said as he gazed at Veronica while she lay beneath him, the light from the fire in the fireplace casting a golden glow on his handsome face.

“We’ll talk about it later, Jug. Just make love to me.” She whispered.

She took his face in her hands and brought him to her so she could kiss him, reminding him that she wanted him, that she was there to make up for lost time.

“You’re so beautiful, Veronica…so _fucking_ beautiful.” He groaned after she’d shifted their bodies so that she was now on top of him, grinding her body on his, her hips moving in slow circles as she ran her hands down his chest and up to her breasts. She touched herself, rubbing her clit with one hand while grabbing her breast with the other, clenching the muscles of her core to make Jughead growl with pleasure.

“Holy _fuck_ …” He grunted as he tightened his grip on her hips.

“Come, baby.” Veronica panted. She could feel how hard he was and it only made her own climax that much more incredible as she started to go over the edge.

“Oh God… _yes_ …fuck…” She cried as Jughead came with her.

Veronica knew this was just the beginning of what would be hours of sex. And even still, she wouldn’t be able to get enough of being with him. And she wanted to tell him, but she didn’t yet know how.

She had upset him a lot, she knew that. She had worried him. But she still wasn’t sure what he wanted when it came to her, and it was the only real fear she had, that he wouldn’t want her as much as she wanted him.

\---

Jughead’s night hadn’t turned out quite how he had expected. He had never been so afraid in his whole life not knowing where Veronica was, and not knowing if she was okay. When he heard that motherfucker Trev telling her to take off her clothes, he had felt a rage unlike any he had ever felt before.

But he knew that for Veronica’s sake, he had to keep his head in check as much as possible. But it had taken everything in him to keep it together. For anyone to threaten to hurt the woman he loved was something he could never let go or take lightly. He was boiling with hostility and ready to cause extreme bodily harm to anyone that might threaten his beloved Veronica.

And now she was lying in his bed after hours of mind-blowing sex, curled up next to him and smiling up at him with her big, brown eyes that made him weak in every bone and muscle in his body.

“So I guess my plan didn’t work out as well as I had hoped it would." She lamented with a sigh as she bit her bottom lip.

Jughead’s heart thundered in his chest. She was a total dream.

"I am so embarrassed and so fucking sorry that you had to come save me from my own mess, Jughead. I feel like the biggest jerk alive.”

Jughead shook his head.

“Baby, you are _amazing_. The fact that you were so brave to do that, blows my mind. You saved _so_ many people tonight. You burned that living nightmare to the ground, and you are a hero for it. Do not apologize for anything.” He said as he turned to face her, pushing her hair away from her face so he could cup her cheek in his hand.

“Why did you feel like you couldn’t tell me?” He asked, regretful that he hadn't been able to help her sooner. That she hadn't felt she could talk to him.

Veronica sighed.

“I just…I felt so guilty. And after I talked to Betty and she told me how much danger I had put you in, it just terrified me. I wanted to fix what I had caused. And I didn’t want anything to happen to you because of what I’d done.”

Jughead looked at her confused.

“Betty knew about your plan?” He asked.

He could feel the anger within him rising at the thought that Betty had known what Veronica was planning but hadn’t bothered to say a word about it to him.

“Yeah, she knew. I mean, I didn’t give her details but I told her that Ethel and I had a plan to take care of Chuck’s drug brothel for good. It was after…after I had walked in on you two hugging.”

Jughead sighed.

“Veronica, that hug didn’t mean _anything_. It was just a hug. But don’t worry, I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. I cannot _believe_ she knew what you were going to do and didn’t bother to tell me. She knew what you would be walking into. She knew the danger involved. And she knows how I feel about you. It’s almost like she wanted…” He stopped himself from continuing his thought.

Veronica smirked.

“Like she wanted to get rid of me? Yeah, that wouldn’t surprise me. She’s still holding a torch for you, Jones.”

Jughead shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, because…I’m…I’m in love with someone else.” He replied, suddenly nervous as he looked into Veronica’s eyes.

Being nervous wasn’t a feeling he felt too often, but he wanted Veronica to know how he felt about her. That he was in love with her, completely crazy about her, and he couldn’t hide it any longer.

And by the way her eyes widened with surprise, he realized she’d had absolutely no idea about how he felt about her.

But before she could even respond, Jughead’s phone buzzed.

“ _Fuck_ …it’s Archie. I need to take this.”

Veronica nodded, her cheeks flushed, and it melted Jughead completely whenever she looked blissfully happy the way she did at that moment. He would have to make the conversation with Archie short so he could get back to her.

“Jughead, did you find Veronica?” Archie asked frantically after a quick greeting.

“I found her. Everything is fine. She’s fine.” Jughead replied, understanding Archie’s worry but irritated by it nonetheless.

“Can I talk to her?”

Jughead sighed as he handed the phone to Veronica.

“He wants to talk to you.”

Veronica gulped. Jughead knew she hadn’t talked to Archie in years. To the point that Archie hadn’t even known Veronica’s whereabouts prior to Jughead showing up at Pop’s.

“Hey Archie.” She said nonchalantly.

Jughead couldn’t help but watch her carefully as she spoke to her ex-boyfriend. Even though Archie was his best friend, and would always be, he still wouldn’t hesitate to punch him square in the nose if he attempted to get Veronica back.

“Yeah, I’ve been with the Serpents for a few months now. It’s been really good.” She said as she wrapped Jughead’s bedsheet tighter around her, as if she didn’t want to be exposed while talking to Archie when she was naked in Jughead’s bed.

“I have, but…it’s okay, Archie. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m safe with Jughead.”

She smiled at him then, and Jughead couldn’t help but smile back.

“No, I don’t need anything. I have everything I need right here.”

Veronica sighed, and Jughead could imagine exactly what Archie was saying to her. That she was in a dangerous world being among the Serpents. That she was better than that. That he could help her get out of Riverhell and go somewhere safer.

“Yes, Archie…I am.” She said.

Jughead wondered what it could have been that Archie had just asked her because Veronica was all of a sudden very quiet. She handed the phone back to Jughead.

“I think our conversation is over.” She said to Jughead as she gave him a sly grin.

Jughead immediately got the impression that Archie hadn’t liked what Veronica had said to him and no longer wanted to speak to her. And in a way, Jughead was relieved.

“Arch? Hey.”

Jughead heard a loud sigh on the other end of the line.

“Jughead, if anything ever happens to her, I will _never_ let you live it down. I swear to _God_.” Came Archie’s irate response.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Archie. She’s safe in my bed, with me. And it will be that way every single night for as long as she wants to be here with me.”

Jughead looked at Veronica, who was slowly unwrapping the sheet from her naked body. His pulse raced as she climbed onto his lap.

She took the phone from Jughead’s hand.

“He’ll talk to you later, Archiekins.” She said before ending the call and tossing Jughead’s phone onto the bedside table.

“Every single night, huh?” She asked as she took Jughead’s hardened cock in her hand and guided it into her.

Jughead moaned as she began to work him, kissing his neck while grabbing onto his biceps.

“Yes… _God_ yes…” He replied as his hands ran up and down her bare back in languid strokes.

He could never get enough of this, not in a million years.

\---

 

Veronica knew her head was in the clouds as she attempted to concentrate on her team that were busily making batches of her special pruno champagne, but it was nearly impossible.

Jughead told her he was in love with “someone else” implying that it was her. If only Archie hadn’t interrupted the conversation, she could have told him that she felt the same. Instead, she had told Archie.

“Ronnie, are you in love with Jughead?” He had asked her on the phone after giving her an earful about why it was a terrible mistake for her to be living with the Serpents. That she had already gotten herself into a dangerous situation that could have gotten her killed, and that he could get her out of there if she wanted to. All she had to do was say the word.

“Yes, Archie…I am.” She had told him.

She looked right at Jughead as she said it, and Jughead had looked at her, giving her that crooked grin that made her heart pound, as if he was wondering what the question was that Veronica was replying to. As if maybe he knew _exactly_ what Archie had asked her.

Archie had gone silent and Veronica knew he was no longer interested in talking to her any further. But she hadn’t cared one bit. Archie had thrown her away a long time ago for Betty, and she didn’t mind getting revenge by falling in love with his best friend.

But all of that didn’t matter to her as much as she had thought it would. What mattered to her more than anything was knowing that Jughead wanted her around for however long she wanted to _be_ around. Her heart felt like it would explode knowing she would get to make love to him every single night, if she wanted to. And she most certainly wanted to.

“Veronica? _Hello_?”

Veronica looked up to see Toni staring at her, back from her honeymoon and looking a lot more rested than she had in a long time. Veronica didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, but apparently it had been long enough to where Toni was seemingly annoyed.

“Oh! Toni, hey! Welcome back! How was your trip?”

Toni gave Veronica a curious look.

“It was really nice. Very restful. But why are you staring off into the distance all dreamily?” She asked with a disparaging look on her face.

Veronica shrugged.

“I don’t know what you mean. I’m just at work, you know…working.” Veronica replied as she looked down at the pile of apricots she was supposed to be cutting up but hadn’t even begun to.

Toni looked at her with wide eyes as her mouth dropped open.

“Oh _shit_ …you’re in love with him.”

Veronica didn’t say anything in response. She only grinned.

“What the _hell_ happened while I was gone?” Toni asked as she took a seat on the stool next to Veronica.

Veronica sighed.

“Well, to start, I need to return this to you.” Veronica said as she pulled out Toni’s knife from her back pocket and handed it to her.

Toni stared at it, totally confused.

Veronica filled Toni in on everything that had happened. From seeing Betty and Jughead hugging, to her plan with Ethel, to setting Thistle House on fire, and finally to the part where she and Jughead killed Trev Smith together in the basement of Chuck Clayton’s drug brothel before escaping on Jughead’s motorcycle.

Toni listened, completely silent, taking it all in.

Finally, when Veronica had finished with the story, she looked at Toni apprehensively.

“Wow, Veronica… _fuck_ …that…that is pretty much the most _insane_ shit I have heard in a long time. So then what? You and Jughead got off on your Natural Born Killer night of murder and arson and banged until morning?”

Veronica chuckled.

“Oh my God…I was just _kidding!_  You two are fucking twisted.” Toni said with a laugh as she shook her head.

“Yeah, we probably are. Well…I guess we _totally_ are. It’s so strange, Toni. I never would have expected any of this.”

Toni nodded.

“Life throws some fucked up shit at you. It’s all in how you deal with it. But…Veronica…there are things you should know about Jughead…you know…before you get in too deep with him.”

Veronica looked at Toni, confused. She had spent a lot of time with Jughead lately. She couldn’t imagine there being much that he could be hiding from her at this point.

“I’m already in deep, Toni. It doesn’t matter if there are things that I should know. Whether I know them or not won’t change how I feel about him.”

Toni sighed.

“They might not, but they’re things you should know regardless. Just… _talk_ to him. You have a right to know everything there is to know if you want to continue with this way of life.”

Veronica nodded, suddenly feeling uneasy. She didn’t want things to get too complicated when they had just begun. She loved Jughead and she wanted to keep loving him. She knew that if things were headed towards relationship status between them, that they would never be normal. There would be no dinner and a movie date nights like back before Riverdale became hell on earth. She and Jughead had killed together, there was no going back from that. They would never be your average, ordinary couple.

But the thought of that was exactly what excited her so much about being with him. It would never be boring. They would never know what the next day would bring, or what would be coming around the corner. Jughead would never be predictable, he would keep her on her toes, and he would always make her crazy with a constant carnal need for him.

Veronica wanted Jughead more than she had ever wanted anyone before. And she knew her heart would break in two if something stood in the way of the only thing that had brought her happiness in far too long.

 

To be continued...

 


	13. Said and Done

Jughead had wanted to let it go, but he couldn’t.

When Veronica had told him about Betty being well aware that she and Ethel had a scheme to fix the situation with Chuck Clayton’s associates, and yet, Betty never warned Jughead of what Veronica had been planning to do, it angered him to no end.

So when he’d called Betty and asked her to come to his office at the Whyt Wyrm, he knew she knew what it was about. But she came anyway. She could never stay away from him, even if he was angry as sin with her.

“You _know_ how I feel about Veronica. You know I’m in love with her. How could you _not_ tell me what she was going to do?” Jughead asked Betty as he stood in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest defensively.

Betty huffed, obviously annoyed at how mad he was at her, but also at how concerned he was with Veronica.

“Why does it even matter at this point? She pulled it off, _didn’t_ she? And now the rest of Chuck’s associates are afraid they’ll meet the same fate, so now they’re all in hiding. They’re not going to try to mess with you,  _or_ Veronica, at this point.”

Jughead couldn’t deny that he was glad to hear that particular piece of news. Betty always had her ear to the ground and knew anything worth knowing. Jughead was grateful that she kept him in the loop about anything he needed to look out for. And as much as he didn’t want to ruin that relationship with her, he still couldn’t get over how she had blatantly fucked with something that was so important to him.

“It matters because we’re supposed to be friends, Betty. And you’ve _always_ tipped me off to anything you thought I should know. And if there was anything you ever should have told me about, it was that Veronica was planning on putting herself in serious danger. Trev was going to rape her, and then probably kill her. She had a nightmare about it last night. And it's devastating to me, because her going through all of that could have been prevented if you had just let me know.” He said, his blood boiling as he remembered the way Trev spoke to Veronica, the lust and evil in his voice when he’d told her to take her clothes off.

Betty scoffed.

“I don’t think so, Juggy. I don’t think you could have stopped her no matter how hard you tried. She was _determined_ to clean up her mess. She put you in grave danger. And she’ll continue to put you in danger as long as you two continue with this fucking disaster you call love. You have a weakness now, and once everyone finds out about it, you can kiss your kingdom goodbye. She’ll be the end of you, Jughead. Mark my words.”

Jughead sighed. He had always feared having a weakness used against him. But he couldn’t hold back from being with Veronica. He was far to obsessed with her, too in love with her. He wanted her too much to let her go.

“So you’re not sorry for what you could have stopped?”

Betty threw her hands in the air at his question.

“Geezes, Jughead! Is that all you care about? I just told you that everything you’ve worked so hard for could come crumbling down around you all because of Veronica Lodge and all you care about is if I’m sorry for not telling you her plan? You are fucking insane.”

But Jughead only chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s what they all say.”

Betty rolled her eyes.

“The only thing I have ever wanted in life was for you to be okay, Jug. For you to survive this living nightmare we are all sharing. But you are running towards what will surely be your undoing, and I can’t seem to do anything to stop you.”

Jughead shook his head. The words Betty had just spoke had never been truer.

“Betty, the way you feel about me…don’t you understand? That’s the way I feel about Veronica. I would die for her. Don’t you get it?”

A tear rolled down Betty’s cheek as she nodded.

“I get it, Jug. I do. And…I won’t come back here any time soon…if ever. I’ll still keep you informed of things that go on that you should know. I _promise_ you that. I want to earn your trust back. I want to earn our friendship back. I know I fucked up, and…yes…I _am_ sorry.”

Jughead nodded in agreement. His heart was filled with sorrow for his former love turned friend, but it was time for her to let go of the past, and it was time for him to embrace the future.

“Thank you, Betts. And… _please_ …take care of yourself.”

\---

“I heard from Claudia. She’s staying in that shelter underneath the old police station that Kevin Keller runs. She can only stay for one more night, though.” Ethel said as she and Veronica ate dinner together in their apartment.

Veronica nodded. As much as she wanted to be angry with Claudia for bailing on her, leaving her alone with Trev, she also knew she couldn’t blame the girl for what she did while she had been high as a kite and her home was up in flames.

“Well, Jughead said he wants me to stay with him…if I want to. So maybe Claudia can move in here with you. I’ll talk to Jughead about it, make sure it’s cool with him if she stays with the Serpents.”

Ethel breathed a sigh of relief.

“I would be _so_ grateful.” She replied as she smiled at Veronica.

“Can you believe our plan actually _worked_? I can’t stop thinking about it.” She said as she shook her head in disbelief.

Veronica chuckled. 

“I can’t believe it worked either. We make a good team, Muggs. But…where did you go after you left Pop’s?”

The question had been on Veronica’s mind ever since she and Jughead had rode away from the burning house. Jughead had told her that Ethel had already left Pop’s when he’d arrived there to find out where she was. But she hadn’t returned to the house either, at least, as far as Veronica knew.

Ethel’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t been expecting the question.

“I uh…um...I…I was just so amazed with what we had done. I wanted to watch that house burn. That house of pure horror. So I found a spot where I wouldn’t be seen by anyone and I watched the house burn until it was nothing but a pile of smoking bricks. It was the most wonderful feeling, to know that place was gone for good.”

Veronica sighed.

“It was definitely a place of nightmares, no doubt about that. I was worried about you, but, I understand that you needed that moment for yourself. I hope you got some closure from all of this.”

Ethel smiled thoughtfully.

“I did. I got the closure I needed. And I have _you_ to thank for that, Ronnie.”

Veronica hadn’t told Ethel everything that had happened after she had left to take everyone they had rescued from the house to Pop’s to meet Archie. She wasn’t sure how much she should tell her. She didn’t want Ethel to feel guilty for anything when she'd had no way to control what had happened with Trev.

Fortunately, Claudia had barely remembered anything. Only that a black haired girl had spoken to her, that the house was on fire, and that she needed to get out.

“Hopefully now we can put all of that behind us for good. But in the meantime, you should think about joining my pruno team. We have a lot of work to do and we could use your help.”

Ethel nodded.

“I will. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me. I’d be happy to be on your team down in the trades.”

The two women toasted to their accomplishments and to their future with the Serpents. And having Ethel on her team working with the pruno shipments would be a great way for Veronica to keep an eye on her old friend.

Because for whatever reason, Veronica wasn’t sure she could completely trust Ethel Muggs. At least, not yet.

\---

 

Veronica woke up to find that Jughead wasn’t in bed next to her. She grabbed one of his flannel shirts laying on the armchair by his closet and put it on.

It smelled like him, his aftershave mixed with that soap that smelled like a pine-filled forest.

She smiled to herself as she tiptoed through the living room and looked out the window. It was snowing outside, and had already left a dusting of white on the trees and front porch railing, where she saw Jughead standing and staring out into the quiet forest.

“Hey.” She said softly as she stepped out of the front door.

Jughead turned, smiling, but there was something tense in his eyes.

“Baby, you shouldn’t be out here in nothing but…my shirt… _wow_ , you look _really_ fucking good in my shirt.” He said with a sly grin as he looked her over hungrily.

Veronica blushed.

“I wanted to come check out the first snowfall of the season. But you’re right. It’s ridiculously cold out here.” She replied as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Jughead chuckled.

“Well, let’s go get warmed up then.” He said as the two went back inside.

But Veronica still noticed an apprehension with Jughead, and she remembered what Toni had said to her. That there were things she needed to know about Jughead. Important things.

As much as Veronica loved him, no matter what, she had to admit that it was important that she know as much about him as she could. Sure, she had known Jughead for nearly a decade, but she hadn’t known him as well as other people in his life, the people closest to him. And she wanted to know everything there was to know about Jughead Jones.

“What’s going on, Jug? You seem unusually anxious this morning.” Veronica asked him as the two sat together on the couch with their cups of hot coffee.

Jughead sighed as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

Veronica hated seeing him so stressed, and it made her nervous.

“Talk to me. It’s okay.” She said as she placed a comforting hand on his cheek.

Jughead exhaled before finally speaking.

“Veronica…I need to tell you something. Something about me that I…that I didn't have the courage to tell you sooner. But…you deserve to know…I want you to know, because…I love you…and…I want to be with you…for as long as you are willing to be with me.”

Veronica’s heart melted at his confession of love. It was the first time he’d really said it and she didn’t think she’d ever heard anything sweeter.

He paused as he put down his coffee. Veronica did the same.

“What is it, Jughead?” She asked calmly, not wanting him to be afraid to tell her whatever it was he needed to say.

Jughead looked into her eyes.

“A few years ago…I was diagnosed with an illness…a _mental_ illness. It’s called borderline personality disorder. And…it causes me to have a lot of… _issues_.”

He stopped, waiting to see her reaction to what he had just divulged. It was so deeply personal and sincere, and Veronica’s heart went out to him for having the courage to talk to her about what he was going through.

“I’ve heard of BPD. And I know it must be terribly difficult to deal with.” She said as she took his hands in hers.

Jughead nodded, wincing, as if he was remembering some of those extremely difficult times he’d had over the years that he’d been dealing with such a relentless illness.

“It is...it’s _really_ tough. And it’s why I’ve gotten this reputation of being crazy and dangerous and totally out of control. I have a hard time managing my anger. I have a hard time calming down. I don’t usually let myself get too close to anyone because…I’m always afraid people won’t be able to handle how erratic I can be. It’s why I didn’t want to get too close to you, even though I’ve been so enamored with you ever since you joined up with the Serpents. I didn’t want you to look at me like I’m some kind of freak or a total asshole. And yet, I knew if you thought I was those things, you’d keep your distance from me. And that would be safer for us both.” He explained, his face still grimacing with the stress of admitting something that was so clearly hard for him to talk about.

“But I _couldn’t_ keep my distance from you, Jughead. And your illness isn’t a deal breaker for me. It doesn’t scare me away.” She said as she looked at him closely, so he’d understand that she meant what she said without any hesitation.

Jughead smiled weakly.

“Veronica, life with me won’t be very easy. It will _never_ be easy, because I’m not an easy person to be with. I can’t take meds. If I do, I won’t be able to manage the Serpents the way I do. Because if there is one good thing about dealing with BPD, it’s that it gives me the edge I need to lead.”

Veronica nodded, she understood what Jughead was telling her, but it didn’t change anything. All it did was prove to her that Jughead trusted her, loved her, and was willing to give her up by telling her the truth about who he was, and letting her decide if she could live with it or not.

“It’s okay, Jug. I still want to be here with you. I still feel the same way about you.”

Her heart slammed inside her chest at the way he looked at her then, as if he knew what she was about to say next.

“I still… _love_ you…I love you, Jughead, and I’m not going anywhere.”

He looked at her with such relief, reverence, and love that she could feel incredibly intense emotions rising up from deep within her chest. She wanted to cry knowing that he didn’t have to ever be afraid that she would walk away. She could never walk away.

“This world is dark, it’s perilous and it’s evil. We live in a virtual hell. But there is no one I’d rather try to fight the good fight with than you, Jughead. We can survive together. We can lean on each other. And we’ll win.” She said, adamantly. And she meant it.

Jughead leaned in to kiss her, his arms pulling her closer to him.

“You’re an angel among demons, Veronica Lodge.” He murmured against her lips as he began to remove the flannel shirt from her shoulders, kissing her bare skin as she softly sighed.

“And some days I feel as though I’m the devil himself. But knowing that you are mine...well, I think I just might be able to live with that.”

 

The End.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you who read this story and to those of you who gave me kudos and comments. It always means so much to me when I get some amazingly encouraging feedback. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
> 
> This was a bit of a departure for me. Going a little darker is not easy for me, but this was a really fun story to write. A big thank you to my Tumblr anon for the prompt!
> 
> I might even have to write an epilogue to this one...


	14. Return to Riverhell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back with a few new chapters of Riverhell. Let's see what Jug and V are up to.

“Is the shipment ready to go?” Veronica asked as she looked over her clipboard, double checking to make sure all twenty crates of her pruno champagne were loaded and ready to go.

Being on time with the shipment of alcohol for the Ghoulies was vital and the Serpents had managed to be so successful with Veronica’s concoction that they had also been selling it on the side to Reggie’s market and even Pop’s. The money was raking in, and Veronica was relieved.

“Yep! It’s packaged, in the van, and Fang’s is about to go meet with Malachai. Veruno has cornered the market, Veronica. You are a hero.” Toni said as she gave Veronica a high-five.

“I don’t know about that, but I’m just glad we bounced back.” She replied humbly.

She had been making the pruno that they had aptly named Veruno, in honor of its creator, for a couple of months now. To the point where she could make it in her sleep. She had perfected the recipe and even found better ways of speeding up the fermenting process. The whole operation was nearly flawless.

Veronica had never expected that this was what she would be doing with her life, but she found that being an entrepreneur suited her, and maybe it was one of the only good things she had learned from her father.

“It’s amazing, V. Our way of life has improved dramatically. Now if only the rest of this godforsaken world would follow suit.” Ethel chimed in as she jarred some of the cut up apricots.

“Well, maybe Veronica’s pruno will change the whole world as we know it. Prison juice bringing us all together!” Toni said with a laugh.

Veronica smiled, shaking her head.

“That’s a farfetched dream for the future. But in the meantime, let’s go up to the Wyrm and get a drink.” Veronica suggested as she put down her clipboard and turned off her desk lamp.

Toni nodded enthusiastically.

“Sounds perfect. You in, Muggs?”

But Ethel shook her head no.

“Actually…um…I told Claudia we could hang out and just veg and…you know…watch movies tonight. But you two go have fun.”

Veronica smiled, doing her best to be convincing in her belief of Ethel’s weak excuse.

“Okay, well, tell Claudia I said hi. And maybe we can all hang out soon.”

Ethel smiled, but there was something about it that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah...absolutely. I’ll..uh...see you two later.”

Veronica and Toni watched as Ethel left in a hurry.

“Still suspicious about her?” Toni asked as she eyed the doorway after Ethel was no longer in view.

Veronica nodded.

“There’s just something not right and I’m not sure what it is. I thought at first that it was just trauma or something, that I was being paranoid. But there’s something super suspect about Ethel and Claudia.”

The two friends locked up their work room for the night and headed through the warehouse and out to the Whyt Wyrm. Veronica remembered the days when she dreaded coming to the Serpent bar. It meant she would have to dance on the stage, swinging around the rusted pole, embarrassed and miserable at what she had to do if she wanted to be able to be protected by the gang.

But now it was a safe haven, a place to go and unwind. She no longer felt the contempt for it that she once had, and it reminded her of how far she had come in just the past six months, how much her life had changed.

Toni and Veronica sat at the bar as two glasses of pinot noir were placed in front of them.

“Have you talked to Jughead about it?” Toni asked before taking a sip of her drink.

Veronica shook her head.

“No. I mean...I feel bad enough for all I put Jughead through with Chuck and the brothel. I would hate for him to discover that I might have inadvertently brought an infiltrator into our fold.”

Toni rolled her eyes.

“Veronica, don’t try once again to take something into your own hands. Jughead could _help_ you. He would _want_ to help you.”

Veronica sighed.

“I know, but he already has so much to deal with. I brought Ethel here, I need to be the one to figure out what she’s up to. And I _will_ find out. I’m making it my mission.”

Toni shrugged.

“Okay, whatever you say, but you should at least tell Jug about Ethel and then tell him you’ll deal with it. I’m sure he’d do whatever you want, since you have him totally wrapped around your little finger.” Toni said teasingly.

Veronica smiled shyly.

“I’ll tell him. I promise.”

The last thing Veronica wanted to do was keep anything from Jughead, not when she loved him as much as she did. She vowed to herself to find a way to let him know what was going on, and she would hope that he would let her handle it.

\---

Jughead entered the busy Whyt Wyrm, not having been there in days due to his recent visit out to the co-op farm that the Serpents recieved all of their fresh produce from to trade to Reggie Mantle.

The business hadn’t been pleasant. The people that ran the industry side of the farm had done what most people who had the corner on some type of market ended up doing. They were attempting to get something for nothing. The farm had begun to screw Jughead over on the amount of food that had initially been agreed upon when it came to Jughead’s biweekly pick-up. Being stiffed on goods and going against an agreement was not something that Jughead took kindly to.

The farm had agreed to keep the original deal if Jughead threw in a trade of Veruno along with the cash payment.

“We only trade the pruno with certain people, Sinclaire. You _know_ that.”

The farm owner’s eyes widened as Jughead clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists.

“Okay, okay, Jones. No need to…you know…get upset. We’ll…we’ll keep the original deal. But you can’t blame me for taking a shot, can you?” Nick Sinclaire had replied, looking as though he was about to shit his pants.

He had known that as soon as Jughead showed up to confront him that things had taken a serious turn. A turn he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with. Everyone knew Jughead's reputation, after all.

It had been easy, but confrontations weren’t always quite _that_ easy. Jughead still got himself into situations that were particulary unpleasant. Like a few weeks earlier when he’d found out that one of Dilton Doiley’s associates had a hit out on Jughead. A very large reward for his head. Jughead had used Betty’s intel and sources as a way to find the associate and, rightfully so, end the problem.

Needless to say, there was no longer a bounty on Jughead’s life.

The thought of it still sent a ripple of rage throughout his entire body, and he knew the only thing that could calm it was the woman he loved.

His eyes searched the busy bar for his raven-haired girl. But he didn’t have to look long because all of a sudden, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind.

“Hey baby!” chirped a cheery Veronica.

Jughead turned his body as she held him so that he was now facing her.

Veronica draped her arms over his shoulders, gazing at him dreamily. She still made his heart pound every time he saw her, every time she touched him.

“Hey, babe…are you, uh, a bit intoxicated?” He asked with a playful grin.

She was the only one who could ever make him smile so brightly in a dingy bar, in the middle of the night, in a world where bloodshed was far too customary.

Veronica gave him a flirtatious grin as she took his face in her hands.

“You should be happy I’m this drunk because all I can think about is how _badly_ I want to get you naked right now.” She said with a drunken giggle.

She wasted no time covering his mouth with her own in a scorching kiss that made his pulse race and his cock hard as a rock.

But suddenly, there was a voice next to them.

“Um…ahem…uh…Jughead?”

Jughead pulled away to see Archie Andrews standing close by, having witnessed the makeout session between Jughead and Archie’s own ex-girlfriend.

“Oh, hey, Arch…um…didn’t expect you.” Jughead replied awkwardly as Veronica stayed glued to him, kissing and nipping his neck, not caring that they had an audience.

“Yeah, I uh…I called a couple times while you were out of town. I was told you’d be back tonight. And I would have waited, but this really can’t wait.”

Jughead nodded as he rubbed Veronica’s arm, sensing the seriousness of what Archie had come to tell him. It was rare for his old friend to come by the Wyrm, so he knew whatever it was, it was important enough to warrant a personal visit.

“Baby, how about you say hi to Archie.” He coaxed as Veronica continued to kiss his earlobe and down his jawline.

“Hi, Archie.” Veronica said quickly before going back to nuzzling Jughead, still planting kisses on his face and neck as he spoke to Archie, her hand traveling dangerously close to the buldge in Jughead’s faded blue jeans while the other hand weaved through his dark hair.

“Juggykins…can we go? I need to get you _home_ …” She purred in his ear.

“In just a little bit, baby…Archie needs to talk to me first.”

Jughead knew she’d be mortified later by how she had behaved in her drunken state, but Jughead couldn’t deny how much he was enjoying the look on Archie’s face as he watched Veronica’s inability to stop herself from the shameless display of affection for the man she loved.

“Can…uh…can we talk somewhere? Privately?” Archie asked as he swallowed hard, unable to peel his eyes away from Veronica as he spoke.

Jughead had a hard time not feeling _some_ guilt for how Archie’s first meeting with Veronica in almost seven years was going. He knew it couldn’t be easy, no matter how Archie felt about Veronica. Especially when Veronica wasn’t the least bit concerned about Archie’s presence. Granted, her inebriation had a lot to do with that.

Jughead gently eased out of Veronica’s embrace but she still clung to his forearm.

“Just give me a few minutes, my love. I just saw Cheryl walk in, why don’t you go say hey to her.” Jughead said sweetly as he touched her cheek.

“Oh poo. _Fine_.” She pouted as she dropped her arms to her side.

She glanced over at Archie briefly.

“But, do _not_ keep me waiting long.” She said as she tapped the tip of Jughead's nose with her finger before sauntering over to where Cheryl and Toni sat at the bar.

Jughead motioned for Archie to follow him as they headed towards the door at the back of the bar that led to the basement office.

“So things are _obviously_ going well between you two.” Archie gritted through his teeth as Jughead closed the office door behind them.

“Uh…yeah…sorry about that. She’s been drinking with Toni. They always go a little overboard.”

Archie nodded, but the look on his face was unamused.

“Look, Jughead, I’m glad she’s happy. I really am. But…I still don’t agree with her being here. It brings me no enjoyment that you’ve allowed her to live and work here.”

Jugehad sighed. Archie was one of the very few people that he would allow to speak to him that way. But Archie was his best friend, and he respected him immensely.

“I get it, Arch. I do. But…even if I tried to get her to leave, she wouldn’t. And you know that Veronica is not one to _ever_ let anyone tell her what to do. At least, not without a fight.”

Archie chuckled quietly, nodding.

“I’m glad that that’s one thing that hasn’t changed about her, to be honest. I just…I have regrets, Jug. And she looks…she’s still so _sexy_.”

Jughead scowled at his friend.

“Don’t push it, Red.”

Archie held up his hands.

“Alright, alright. Anyway, talking about you and Veronica being together is not why I came here. I came to talk to you about something really strange that has been going on.”

Jughead listened intently as he sat forward in his desk chair.

“You know all of those brothel people of Chuck’s that Ethel and Veronica saved?”

Jughead nodded, remembering that night all too well. Veronica still had nightmares about it.

“Well, I had placed all of them in hideouts. Places where they would all be safe and could live for quite some time. They all got new identities and jobs. But…over the past few weeks, some of them have gone missing. Just…vanished.”

Jughead felt a chill at the way Archie spoke. It was rare for anything to ever unnerve Archie Andrews, but he was obviously shaken by these recent disappearances.

“No one knows where they’ve gone. They leave most of their things and haven’t popped up anywhere else. I just…I didn’t know where else to turn. I thought maybe you could talk to Ethel. See if she knows anything? If she’s heard from any of them? My concern is how trustful these people are or if they are in some kind of danger.”

Jughead nodded, knowing that Archie was right to start with Ethel Muggs as a possible lead.

“Yeah, of course, Archie. I’ll talk to her. And I’ll get some of my guys to do some investigating into the matter. We’ll figure it out.” He said as reassuringly as he could.

“Thank you, Jug. This kind of thing just hasn’t ever happened before. I’m the only person in town who moves people in and out of Riverdale. So if these people have left, I need to know how and I need to know why.”

Just then, Jughead’s office door burst open.

“Let’s go, handsome! I’ve been waiting long enough! You _promised_.”

Jughead gave Archie an apologetic look as he got up and steered Veronica out of the office to take her home to their cabin.

“Okay, babe. Let’s go. And in the morning, I need to talk to you about something.”

 

To be continued.

 


	15. Into Thin Air

“Disappearing?”

Veronica sat against the pillows in the bed she shared with Jughead, furrowing her brow at what Jughead had just told her.

“Yeah, and it’s _sudden_. I don’t think Archie wants to think the worst, but if these people aren’t disappearing on their own, then the only other option is to find out who might be behind it all.”

Veronica nodded in agreement.

“To be honest, Jug, I was going to talk to you about Ethel. Something isn’t right with her. I don’t know what it is, but...I need to find out. I feel terrible if I brought her into the Serpent compound only to discover that she’s up to something.” She said with a guilty sigh.

Jughead cupped her cheek.

“Don’t feel bad, baby. You were helping her, and that was very noble of you. But if she knows anything, or, worst case scenario, has anything to do with these disappearances, then it’s actually to our advantage that she’s in our custody.”

Veronica sighed. She hoped more than anything that Ethel didn’t know anything, and she couldn’t imagine that Ethel would be involved, no matter how suspicious Veronica had been of her.

“I’ll talk to her today.” She replied as she got up from the bed and headed to go take a shower.

“Oh, not so fast, Ms. Lodge.” Jughead said with smirk on his face.

 Veronica turned around, slumping her shoulders as she pouted.

“I know, I know…but I only _vaguely_ remember the way I acted last night at the Wyrm. I promise I won’t drink that much again.”

Jughead chuckled.

“You made Archie feel like dirt, you know.” He said as he cocked an eyebrow at her.

Veronica really did feel bad that she had been so uninterested in Archie’s presence that she hadn’t even asked her former boyfriend how he was doing, much less even said hi until Jughead had prompted her to.

“I didn’t _mean_ to, babe! It was the alcohol! And I hadn’t seen you in weeks! And you looked _so_ hot! What else did you expect?” Veronica replied as she slipped Jughead’s shirt that she had been wearing over her head, hoping her naked form would distract him from being upset with her.

She knew it had worked when Jughead cleared his throat as his hand dipped under the sheets. 

“You…should…you know…apologize, or something… _fuck_ …just come here.” He growled, giving up on the lecture since he was now fully erect and ready to make love to her for a second time that morning.

Veronica beamed with delight as she crawled onto the bed and onto Jughead’s waiting lap. She guided him into her, sighing as his cock filled her.

“I’m sorry, baby.” She purred as she grinded against him.

Jughead shook his head.

“Don’t just apologize to _me_ , apologize to Archie.”

Veronica chuckled.

“Can we _not_ talk about him while I’m fucking you?” She asked as she wrapped her arms around Jughead’s neck and gazed at him hotly.

He was her king in more ways than one and she never got enough of letting him know just how much she desired him.

Jughead’s large hands grabbed her ass, making her cry out from how he had suddenly gone even deeper.

“He told me how sexy you still are.” Jughead told her, ignoring her request, making a game of it instead.

Veronica smirked.

“He’s too easy.” She panted as her fingers played with the back of Jughead’s dark hair.

“Question is, do _you_ think I’m sexy, Torombolo?”

Jughead gave her a wicked grin before rolling her over so he was now on top of her, driving his cock in hard and fast.

“Fuck yes…you _know_ I do.” He groaned as he grabbed her breast and latched his mouth onto her neck.

Veronica got a shiver throughout her whole body at the rough way he spoke, the way his mouth and hands worked her body, the way he slammed in and out of her until they were both coming at the same moment, their cries of passion echoing through the cabin and out into the thick woods where they lived.

“God, you’re incredible.” She sighed, her legs shaky from the remnants of orgasm.

Jughead let out a breathless chuckle.

“And you’re forgiven.”

\---

 

It was dark when Jughead went out on his mission to look into the disappearances of the brothel workers who Veronica and Ethel had freed months earlier.

Archie had given him the addresses of the safe houses they had all been set up with, so Jughead started with the home of the first worker who had disappeared only a few weeks after arriving at their new home.

“We haven’t seen or heard from Lola ever since she just up and vanished.” The safe house owner, Louise, told Jughead as the two chatted in what had been Lola’s room.

“What did she leave behind?” Jughead asked.

The owner shrugged.

“She didn’t have much to begin with, but we put all of her stuff in a box. I’ll get it for you.”

Louise left the room briefly while Jughead took a look around. The room didn’t have a new tenant yet, so Jughead checked dresser drawers, the closet, and under the mattress for anything that might have been uncovered.

But he found nothing.

“Here it is. Feel free to take anything you might need. I have this weird feeling that she won’t be coming back.”

Jughead didn’t get a chill often, he had seen and heard far too many horrible things over the past years, but the unusual disappearances of the brothel workers wasn’t sitting well with him. It seemed much more sinister then most of what he’d come across.

“Thank you so much for your help, Louise.”  Jughead said before opening the box.

Louise had been right, there wasn’t much in it other than a few t-shirts, a hair clip, a pencil, a bra, a few pairs of socks, a lighter, some loose change, a pair of gloves, and a pack of gum.

Jughead picked up each item, turning them over in his hands to see if there was any evidence of anything. But it was when he picked up the pack of gum, that he had found something.

He opened his hand as two small, round, white pills fell into his palm. The letter “M” was etched on them, but there was no other identifying features that explained what the pills were.

“They’re definitely prescription. Probably oxycodone.” Jughead told Archie when he called to tell him what he’d found.

Archie sighed.

“So maybe Lola was hooked on pills again? Maybe all of the disappearances have something to do with drugs.”

Jughead agreed.

“And I have a pretty idea of what the M stands for. The only person in Riverdale who has access to prescription drugs is Reggie Mantle. We might just have ourselves a lead.” Jughead said as he stuck the pills in the inside pocket of his Serpent jacket.

“But I’m going to stop by some of the other safe houses before I pay old Reginald a visit. I want to see if there’s any patterns going on.”

Jughead wasn’t happy about what he’d found in Lola’s box, but it was better than not finding anything at all and leaving the safe house empty-handed.

“Sounds like a good plan, Jug. Let me know what you find out.”

The two, old friends hung up as Jughead closed up Lola’s box. He was just about to leave the room when he noticed something carved on the back of the bedroom door.

_A new one has come_

The small, jagged carving sent a shiver down Jughead’s spine.

“A new one has come.” He murmured, wondering if saying it out loud would bring to mind an idea of what the “new one” might be.

He took out the small notepad from his back pocket and ripped a piece of paper from it. He held it up against the carving after grabbing the pencil that was in Lola’s box. He did a quick rubbing of the carving before taking out his phone to take a few pictures of it.

Jughead had no idea what it meant, but he was determined to find out.

\---

 

Veronica sat across from Ethel in the living room of Ethel and Claudia’s apartment in the Serpent compound.

She hadn’t been there long, and she hadn’t wasted any time asking Ethel why she’d been acting so suspicious lately.

And it hadn’t taken much prodding to get Ethel to break.

“Claudia and I were trying to stay in touch with everyone, but one by one they’ve been vanishing into thin air. We were worried, so we were trying to figure out what could have happened to them.” Ethel said as she sat wringing her hands, a distant and worried expression on her face.

Veronica sighed.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that, Ethel? I could have helped you. Jughead has tons of resources available for finding people.”

But Ethel shook her head.

“You’ve already done so much for me, Veronica. You even risked your relationship with Jughead for me. I couldn’t let you get involved in this. Claudia and I were just going to try to find out on our own. So we’ve been leaving the compound whenever we’ve had a lead to where they all could have gone.” She said guiltily.

Veronica realized that Ethel’s strange comings and goings made sense now, but she wasn’t quite convinced yet.

“Have you found out anything? Have you talked to the other brothel workers who haven’t disappeared?” Veronica asked, but almost sure Ethel had little, if anything, to go on.

Ethel let out a heavy sigh.

“I’ve talked to all of them, but none of them have any idea what could have happened. Gina said she and Lola had met up at Pop’s for dinner one night, and everything had seemed normal, but then Gina never heard from her again after that.”

Ethel wiped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek.

“It’s like everything comes to a complete halt. No one has seen or heard anything suspicious. It’s like they’ve all just evaporated into nothingness. It’s creepy as fuck, Veronica.”

Veronica nodded.

“That’s for damn sure.”

Ethel looked up, her eyes red from crying.

“Veronica, please, just leave this whole thing alone. I know you want to help, but there’s nothing that can be done. I told everyone else to just be careful, and to keep in touch regularly. Hopefully there won’t be anyone else disappearing.”

Veronica could hear the urgency in Ethel’s voice as she spoke.

“But I want to help.” Veronica replied, unable to hide her concern for her old friend.

Ethel shook her head adamantly.

“I know you do, but the only way you can really help me is by not getting involved and let me and Claudia deal with this.”

Veronica got up from the couch, needing to get back to her office in the Veruno headquarters.

“Okay, Ethel. I will let you handle it. But let me know if you need anything.”

Ethel sighed a sigh of relief as she got up and hugged Veronica.

“Thank you so much, V. And I will definitely let you know if something comes up.”

Veronica smiled as she said her goodbyes, but as soon as she’d walked out the door of the apartment, she pulled out her cell phone to send a text to Jughead.

_Something is definitely not right with Ethel. We need to keep digging._

To be continued…

 


	16. Help Needed

“I though you never wanted to see me again.” Betty said curtly when Jughead showed up at the abandoned warehouse where she ran her underground newspaper.

The warehouse was her most recent location, though there was no telling how long she would be able to stay. She always made sure to keep moving, and it was how her paper, The Real Truth, had survived. And it was how Betty had survived, as well.

Jughead shook his head.

“I never said that. _You’re_ the one who said you were going to keep your distance. Yes, I was mad at you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still your friend.”

Betty shrugged.

“I suppose. So did you come here to tell me that you finally realized that I’m the only woman for you, or are you still with Veronica?” She asked, her eyes not meeting his, already knowing his answer.

“I’m still with Veronica. And if I wasn’t, I’m sure you would have found out before anyone else seeing as how you’re the eyes and ears of Riverdale.”

Betty couldn’t help but laugh at how true that was as she motioned for Jughead to follow her back to her small, dark office where she had a slew of papers covering every available surface surrounding three different computer screens on her small desk.

“Been busy?” He asked as he took a seat in a metal, folding chair.

Betty nodded emphatically.

“I can’t keep up with all the news coming in. Apparently the government has now ordered all factories to fire at least half of their employees but they still have to churn out the same amount of units. The money that used to pay those employees will now be going straight to the government.”

Jughead stared in disbelief at what Betty had just told him.

“How is that even going to be possible? And what is the money for?”

Betty shook her head.

“I don’t know, but that’s what I’m trying to find out.” She said as she shuffled around some papers on her desk.

“But anyway, what did you come by to see me about?”

Hearing about the atrocities outside of Riverdale that Betty was privy to had almost caused Jughead to forget his _own_ reasons for coming by to see her, which he’d only done because he didn’t want Veronica and Betty to have another one of their confrontations, if he’d asked Betty to come by the Whyte Wyrm instead.

But Jughead had an agenda, and he needed Betty’s help.

“Have you heard anything about the strange disappearances of the people who had been working at Chuck’s brothel before Veronica burned it down? Archie came to me about it recently and we’re attempting to get to the bottom of it.”

Betty nodded her head slowly.

“I had heard about some brothel workers leaving their safe houses without any notice, but none of my people on the outside have seen or heard anything substantial that would lead to a potential story on it. But I can print something if you want.”

Jughead sighed. He’d been hoping Betty had something more than that to tell him.

“No, I think it’s better that we keep this under wraps for now instead of making it public knowledge.” He said as he sat back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair, frustrated at all the brick walls he was running into when it came to the brothel workers whereabouts.

“You haven’t received anything…I don’t know… _strange_ lately?”

Betty thought for a minute, and suddenly her eyes widened.

“Now that you mention it, I _did_ get a really bizarre note in an unmarked envelope a few weeks ago. It was in this horrible chicken scratch handwriting.”

She got up from her desk and went over to a filing cabinet where she rifled through one of the drawers until she pulled out a creased piece of notebook paper.

“Here it is. Whoever wrote this note was looking for this list of people. They made it sound like they were concerned and wanting to help them, if only they could find them. But I’ve been in this busy long enough to know when something is shady as hell. I got the impression that this person was actually looking for these people for less than honorable reasons, so I didn’t print it.”

She handed the note to Jughead and he quickly scanned it over. Almost immediately a name jumped out at him.

“Lola. Lola is on this list. This is a list of all the brothel workers. Holy shit, Betty! You were sitting on something that I needed and you didn’t even know it.” He said with a chuckle.

Betty beamed.

“Well, good thing I keep _everything_.”

Jughead could feel his pulse racing. The list of names definitely meant that someone was trying to find all of the brothel workers. The only people whose names weren’t on the list were Ethel and Claudia. It was suspicious as hell and Jughead couldn’t wait to tell Veronica and Archie about what Betty had been keeping in her possession, never knowing that it was a piece of the puzzle that could help them discover what had happened to the missing workers.

“Thank God you didn’t print this. Your instincts were dead on, as usual.” Jughead told her as he made a copy of the note on Betty’s printer.

Betty chuckled.

“You always _did_ bring out the best in my investigative skills.” She replied, a sentimental smile on her face.

“Can you imagine what kind of team we’d make these days?”

Jughead scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable at the way Betty was looking at him. He hadn’t come to see her so that they could rehash the past, but he knew the risk he was taking by coming to see her.

And not only the risk of pissing off Veronica by going to Betty for help, but the risk of causing Betty anymore pain by having to remind her that their lives weren’t the way they had been in high school. That he wasn’t the same person that he’d been back then.

“I’m just glad we can still go to each other for help.” Jughead said sincerely as he folded the copy of the note and stuck it in his back pocket.

“Anytime, Juggy. You know I’m always here whenever you need me. That will _never_ change, no matter who you choose to love.”

Jughead sighed.

“Real love isn’t a choice, Betts.” He replied before thanking her one last time and leaving her office while he still had the cover of night to conceal him from any spying eyes.

He drove away on his bike with a feeling of guilt that he only ever seemed to get when he was around Betty Cooper, and he was ready to drink it away before he faced the wrath of Veronica Lodge.

\---

 

“I can’t _believe_ you went to see her!” A very intoxicated Veronica yelled as she and Jughead walked into his cabin in the early hours of the morning.

“I had to, Veronica! And I’m _glad_ I did, because I got that list…and it could really help…us out…” Jughead said sluggishly as he stumbled through the cabin behind Veronica, following her to the bedroom.

Veronica stepped out of her stilettos before turning around to glare at him, crossing her arms as he continued to explain himself.

“We’re one step closer to figuring out what’s going on. And it’s not like we’ve been able to get anything meaningfly out of Ethel.”

Veroninca squinted her eyes angrily.

“So you’re saying that it’s _me_ that couldn’t get anything out of Ethel? Like I’m just failing at this whole fucking mission?”

Jughead sighed heavily as he grabbed onto his bedpost to steady himself.

“That’s not what I meant. I just meant…fuck…you know what I meant, Veronica.”

Veronica continued to scowl.

“Well it sounded like that’s what you meant!” She shouted as she grabbed a pillow and blanket from the bed and walked out into the living room.

Jughead followed after her.

“Baby, we’re just drunk and this is a stupid fight. Please don’t sleep on the couch.”

But Veronica suddenly whipped around, a smirk on her mascara smudged face.

“Oh, I’m not. _You_ are.” She spat at she tossed the blanket and pillow onto the couch and walked back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Jughead sighed as he sat down on the couch and took off his boots.

In all the darkness, hysteria, death and crime in the world, it still didn’t stop a woman’s wrath from kicking her man out of bed for going to see an ex-girlfriend.

But he knew it wasn’t like Veronica to be so upset, and he wondered what was really going on with the woman he loved. Ever since the night she’d burned down the brothel, she hadn’t been quite the same. She was fitful in her sleep at night, she seemed to get lost in thought constantly, and she was drinking a lot more.

Jughead realized that he’d been so immersed in his Serpent business that he hadn’t really paid enough attention to it until now. Now that he had been kicked out of his bedroom for the first time since he and Veronica had become a couple.

He was worried about her, but he didn’t want to push her. He knew how stressed out she was over the brothel workers situation, that she felt as though it was all her fault that so many of them had suddenly gone missing. And she was also trying to balance her Veruno business among everything else she had a hand in. Jughead couldn’t imagine what kind of pressure she was feeling.

He knew he would have to talk to her about it, to let her know that he was there for her to lean on. She didn’t have to always be the strong one in their relationship.

And he didn’t want her to carry the load all on her own.

\---

 

Jughead wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep when he was suddenly woken up by the feel of Veronica’s soft lips peppering kisses along his jawline.

“I’m sorry, baby.” She whispered in his ear as she snuggled up next to him on the couch.

Jughead smiled, his eyes still closed from sleep.

“I’m sorry too.” He sighed as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I respect your friendship with Betty. I just have a tendency to let my jealousy get the best of me. She _has_ been helpful, and I’m sorry for acting like a jerk about it.”

Jughead couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s so strange for you to tell me that you’re jealous. If you had told me seven years ago that Veronica Lodge would be jealous of other women when it came to me, I would have told you that you’d lost your mind. I’m a lucky motherfucker.”

Veronica took his face in her hands and turned it towards hers before kissing him softly.

“No, _I’m_ the lucky one. Now come back to bed with me.” She said as she got up from the couch.

Jughead opened his eyes to see her standing over him as she took his head in hers. She was completely naked, ready for him, and he immediately stood up from the couch and picked her up, carrying her back to the bedroom as Veronica laughed.

He was happy to have his real Veronica back, but he knew he could no longer ignore whatever it was that was going on with her. It would be his priority to help her through whatever she was feeling. Even more than finding the missing brothel workers.

\---

 

Veronica got up and showered while Jughead still slept soundly.

She had a million things to do at work and she wanted to get a head start so she could work on the investigation into the disappearances. Then she’d finish the night with a drink, or two, to ease her woes.

She felt guilty that she hadn’t been able to offer more to help Archie and Jughead in finding out what was going on. All she had been able to discover was that Ethel knew more than she was letting on, and that there was something not genuine about the worry she had expressed to Veronica.

Veronica was determined to find out more, no matter what she had to do. She’d put herself in plenty of dangerous situations before, she would do it again if it meant she could find a break in the search.

Knowing that Betty had been able to offer more to the investigation than Veronica had been able to, was really messing with her. It added to the feeling of inferiority she already felt when it came to Jughead’s relationship with Betty.

They were close friends, and Veronica knew that. She completely understood their connection. But she also knew how much Betty still loved Jughead and wanted him back.

Betty had attempted, more than once, to put doubt in Jughead’s mind when it came to Veronica, and she couldn’t let Betty get into his head. So she knew her next move would be to start following Ethel and Claudia. She knew they had been sneaking off at all hours of the day, especially when they thought no one was aware. But Veronica had been tracking their comings and goings by making sure Sweetpea gave her time stamps from the closed circuit videos of the Serpent compound.

Now it was just a matter of finding out _where_ they were going. And once she knew, she had a feeling it would uncover more of the latest mystery that was plaguing their town.

 

To be continued…

 


	17. Stake Out

Jughead and Archie had been hunkered down in Archie’s underground hideout for several hours going over the information Jughead had gathered in regards to the disappearances.

They had discovered that the list that had been sent to Betty had a total of 21 names on it, but 9 of those on the list were the workers that on one could find.

“This list was sent before the disappearances began. Betty didn’t print the list, so the person who sent it obviously found some other way to find all of the brothel workers.”

Archie sat back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head as he listened to Jughead’s analysis of their investigation so far.

“Someone found them, according to that etching you found on the door. Lola knew someone was coming for her. So she wasn’t the first disappearance. God, Jug, the rest of them must be totally on edge with fear. I think it’s time I move them all even deeper into my relocation ring.”

Jughead nodded in agreement.

“Since we don’t even know what sort of fate awaits them all, then yeah.”

Archie sighed.

“The best case scenario is that they just decided to go out on their own. Maybe we should check out other brothels just to see if anyone knows anything about them, or if they maybe got back into the business.”

Jughead chuckled at the suggestion.

“Yes, because Veronica will be _so_ understanding if I start hanging out in brothels.”

Archie shrugged.

“Or, you know, you could send _her_ to do it. She at least knows what they all look like since she’s the one who helped them escape.”

Jughead glared at his best friend.

“Very funny, Arch.”

Archie laughed.

“Dude, I’m just saying, it would make sense for her to go. What are you worried about? She loves you, right?”

Jughead nodded emphatically.

“You better believe she does. But that doesn’t mean I want her in a situation like that, around greasy ass pimps. Plus, something isn’t right with Veronica lately. I’m worried about her, Archie.”

Archie sighed, as if he understood the feeling.

“Her life was threatened, Juggy. She was threatened to be raped. Trev _physically_ injured her, but what he did to her _mind_ was even more traumatic. If she hasn’t talked to you about it, it’s because she doesn’t want to burden you. I know how Veronica is, even though it’s been so long since we were together, but she won’t come to you willingly. You’ll have to find a way to get through to her, to let her know you are there for her to lean on.”

Jughead ran a hand through his hair, distressed.

“I thought she _did_ know I was there for her. I thought she knew that I would do _anything_ to help her.”

Archie nodded.

“I’m sure she does, but she also knows about your BPD, so maybe she doesn’t want to add any more stress to your life. She’s being selfless, which is just the way Veronica is.”

Jughead knew that Archie was right. He knew Veronica, but so did Archie.

Veronica had been so strong, ever since the first time she came to the Serpent compound seeking Jughead’s help. She hadn’t even blinked when he’d told her how she would have to earn her keep. She hadn’t seemed the least bit affected by his obsession with her, or when she overheard him murdering Dilton Doiley.

But he also realized that Veronica was never one to let anyone see her sweat. She had a game face that she rarely ever let break. It was how she had been raised, to never let anyone know the hand you were playing. To never let anyone know what was going on inside your head, because if they couldn’t figure out what you were thinking, they wouldn’t be able to pull one over on you.

Jughead smiled to himself, thinking about the day that Veronica had come to his office, had straddled his lap, and told him she wanted him.

He hadn’t expected it. He had never known how she’d felt. He thought she hated him, and he knew she did at one point. He hadn’t known when it had changed for her, he’d never seen any indication that she was beginning to fall for him, which only made finding out the truth even sweeter. Too bad he hadn’t taken her up on it right away. But he was beyond thankful that he eventually had. That she had still felt the same way, and that she wanted to be with him.

“Just take some time to talk to her, but don’t force her. Veronica is a woman who does things when _she_ is ready.”

Jughead thanked his friend for the advice, and for listening. He knew it couldn’t be easy for Archie to listen to Jughead talk about his relationship with Veronica, but he was one of the only people Jughead would ever allow himself to share such things with.

“As far as the investigation goes. What’s your next step?” Archie asked as he handed Jughead the file folder with everything he’d collected in it.

“Time to go see Mantle and find out who he sold those pills to. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

\---

 

“See you tomorrow, V!” Ethel said with a friendly wave as she shut off her desk light and began to head out of the Veruno office.

“Have a good night.” Veronica replied before checking her watch.

It was almost 9pm, an hour earlier than the time Ethel usually left.

Veronica didn’t have any strict rules about when her employees came and went, as long as they got everything done. Ethel was in charge of keeping track of shipment dates, order details, and units shipped while Claudia worked in the production facility cutting up the produce for fermentation.

Veroncia had taken what had once been a gritty, unorganized, messy and barbaric way of making the pruno and turned it into an actual lucrative, streamlined and successful business.

She had made the Serpents much more of an important commodity in the black market world and had taken away the threat of anyone trying to overthrow their monopoly on the alcohol making business. No one could do what she could do and no one had even tried to.

Veronica had even begun experimenting with making wine, and was hoping it would be the Serpents next foray into the industry.

It was a lot of work, and it had its ups and downs, but Jughead was so proud of her, and that’s all that she needed to keep going.

“I’m heading out, Toni.” Veronica said quietly as Ethel walked out of the door.

“Good luck.” Toni replied with a thumbs up as she continued to work on label designs for when they were finally ready to launch the new wine products.

Veronica peeked out into the hallway to see both Claudia and Ethel walking quickly towards the staircase that led up topside.

She waited until they had disappeared up the first flight before heading down the hallway behind them.

But before she could follow them, she heard a voice behind her.

“Veronica?”

It was Jughead.

She turned around quickly.

“Where are you going?” He asked curiously.

Veronica sighed.

“I was going to try and follow Ethel and Claudia. They left earlier than usual. So I thought I would see where it is they might be going to.”

Jughead nodded.

“Sounds like a good plan. Mind if I tag along with you? That way I can fill you on on what Reggie told me today." He said, a hopeful look on his face.

Veronica frowned.

“You don’t think I can do it on my own?” She asked accusatorily.

A look of anguish swept over Jughead’s handsome face, as if she had wounded him.

“I know you can. I just...I thought we could go together…”

Veronica suddenly realized that he’d just been wanting to work _with_ her, that it had nothing to do with thinking she’d fail. She felt guilty for being so quick to assume.

She didn’t know why she’d been thinking Jughead didn’t have any faith in her lately. But it was a thought that plagued her for the past week.

“Yeah…okay. But we need to go and catch up to them."

The two quickly took the stairs up to the empty lot of the Serpent compound. They headed outside the main gate, looking around for the two women

“Hey, Jinx, did you see where Ethel and Claudia went?” Jughead asked their gate guard.

Jinx nodded.

“Yeah, they grabbed a cab. Heard them ask the guy if he would take them to Hank’s.”

Jughead looked at Veronica. They both knew that Hank’s was one of the underground gay bars in Riverdale. You had to know someone in order to get in, but since Hank’s was one of the places that the Serpents supplied to, Veronica figured that would be enough to get her and Jughead into the exclusive hangout.

“Well then, let’s get on my bike and head to Hank’s.” Jughead said as he and Veronica headed back into the compound and over to the Whyte Wyrm, where Jughead’s motorcycle sat waiting.

It felt as if it had been forever since Veronica had rode on the back of Jughead’s bike with him. And she got that same warm feeling in her heart and a throbbing in her core as she wrapped her warms around his waist while he revved the engine.

The ride to Hank’s was long, but even longer than usual since navigating the broken streets of their once pristine town was a lot more cumbersome than it had once been. Water lines would break, trees would fall, fires would destroy certain areas of town, and there was no one around to put things back together.

It was every man for himself, and it was rare for anyone to venture out after dark.

But everyone in town new Jughead’s motorcycle. They knew what it looked like and how it sounded, and as it roared down the streets, there was nothing but nothingness. No signs of life, almost like Veronica and the Serpent King were the only two people in the world.

It was during those moments that Veronica felt safe. Safe from the thoughts of all the horrific things that she had been through over the past few years.

She hadn’t told Jughead much about what her life had been like before she had come knocking on his door, but it was what had happened to her _after_ she had made her home with the Serpents that seemed to haunt her.

Trev constantly made an appearance in the nightmares that she seemed to be having more frequently lately.

She knew he was dead, but it didn’t matter. Through everything she had gone through, she had never been that close to something so evil, to something that literally made her skin crawl. The way he had poked the gun in her back, the way he had touched her when he’d threatened to rape her, and the way he had been so ready to kill her once he’d had his use of her.

The only safety she had was in Jughead, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him what was going on. He had enough to deal with. She didn’t want to be another problem on his list.

“You’re quiet.” Jughead said once the two had parked the motorcycle in an alley across the street from Hank’s.

They had attempted to use their business connections to get into the club, but the very large bouncer had refused, instead telling them that their business with Hank’s was not the type of connection they needed.

“You _do_ realize that I’m Jughead Jones, right?” He’d said, using his most menacing of voices.

But the bouncer had only chuckled.

“I know, but you have no jurisdiction this far outside the city limits.”

The two hadn’t argued any further, not wanting to create a scene. So they had decided to watch and wait to see Ethel and Claudia leave.

Veronica had been watching the front entrance like a hawk, not saying much, only wanting to get something, _anything_ that Jughead and Archie could use for the investigation. She prayed her instincts were right and that Ethel and Claudia weren’t just on a date or something. Though, Ethel and Claudia had never claimed they were anything but good friends.

“I’m just…you know, not wanting to draw any attention to us.” She said, not looking at him.

But Jughead stepped closer to her and she couldn’t resist the calm in his blue eyes that always eased her.

“What’s wrong, babe? You can tell me _anything_. I know something is bothering you.” He said quietly as he cupped her chin in his hand.

It never ceased to amaze her how tender he was with her while being a badass, murdering, ruler of a disturbed, corrupt city at the same time.

Veronica sighed.

“It’s nothing, Jug. Don’t worry about me, okay?”

But Jughead only shook his head.

“You know I can’t do that. I love you _so_ much, Veronica and I want to help you just how you always help me. Please let me. _Talk_ to me.”

The look on his face was full of concern and love and her heart ached to tell him everything that had been eating away at her, but it had been such a long time since she’d allowed herself to be vulnerable. It wasn’t something she did often and it didn’t come easy to her.

“It’s just…I don’t want you to think I can’t still be strong. I’m just…struggling.”

Jughead nodded as he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest, and was suddenly overwhelmingly comforted by the sound of his heartbeat and the feel of his leather jacket on her skin.

“I know you are, but you're _still_ strong. And we can talk about it whenever you want to. I won’t push, but I want to be there for you.”

Veronica smiled to herself, he’d known exactly what to say, and she knew it was sincere.

She looked up at him and took his face in her hands before capturing his mouth with her own in a searing kiss.

“Looks like Ethel and Claudia might be in there for a while.” Jughead murmured against her lips as his hands began to slide down her ass before dipping below the hem of her short skirt.

“Guess we better think of some way to bide our time.” She sighed as he pulled down her panties.

She stepped out of them and watched as he held them to his nose before sticking them into his back pocket.

“Damn, baby, you’ve been ready for me for a while.” He said with a smirk.

Veronica chuckled.

“I always am. _Especially_ when you’re so sweet. It just gets me _so fucking_ _wet_.”

He groaned at her words as she made quick work of undoing his pants and pushing them down, stroking him slowly as his cock grew harder.

“ _Fuck_ …that feels good.” Jughead panted as he braced himself against the brick wall behind her.

He kissed her then as his one free hand found its way to her slick core. He slid two fingers into her, immediately finding the spot that made her weak in every way.

“Oh!” She yelped, but then quickly kissed him again, hoping her cry of passion hadn’t brought any unwanted attention to them.

Jughead kissed back possessively as he continued to touch her, his mouth forcing hers open so he could run his velvet tongue against hers in languid strokes before taking her bottom lip in his mouth, sucking and nipping while her nails scratched the back of his neck before diving into his dark hair.

“Fuck me, Jones…please…” She gasped as she orgasmed around his fingers, shuddering from her release.

Jughead smirked as he braced her against the wall and lifted her up. She hooked her legs around his torso, his cock so big and hard that he was able to shove himself into her without any help from her hands.

“Shit!” She yelped again, this time not caring at all about who might hear her.

Jughead pounded into her ruthlessly, making her moan and whimper with every single thrust of his hips.

She buried her head in his neck, kissing and nipping, consumed by how hot it was to be fucking him in some random alley where anyone could see them. He never stopped surprising her, and giving her just what she needed when she needed it.

“Oh...god…Veronica…” He groaned breathlessly as he ground into her, the cold wall a stark contrast to his warm body.

“Veronica…please…fucking marry me already.”

Veronica felt her heart skip a beat. Had he really just said what she thought he’d said? Had he really meant it?

She chuckled casually.

“Do you _really_ want to marry me or is it just the sex talking?” She asked breathlessly as she pulled away from his neck to look him in the eyes.

But Jughead shook his head.

“It’s not just...the incredible sex that…made me say that.” He said in between grunts.

“I want to marry you, Veronica Lodge. Will you be my wife?”

Veronica could feel the tears forming in her eyes, a combination of his question and the mounting climax she was about to have as Jughead rolled his hips, slamming himself deeper into her, wanting to make her come.

“Oh god…oh Jughead…oh…yes! Yes! _Yes_!”

 

To be continued…

 

 


	18. Official Queen

“Did you say yes? As in ‘yes’ to marrying me?” Jughead asked with a wide eyed expression on his face after he’d come right along with Veronica and lowered her back to the ground.

Veronica smiled, her cheeks flushed.

“Yes. If you really _meant_ it, of course.” She replied, self-consciousness in her voice.

Jughead nodded as he zipped up his jeans. He couldn’t believe she had actually said yet. That Veronica Lodge _actually_ wanted to marry him and be his wife.

“I meant it, Veronica. And I can prove it once we’re back home.”

Veronica looked at him curiously.

“Why back at home?” She asked with a chuckle.

Jughead grinned sheepishly.

“Well, that’s where the ring is. I know proposing to you in some dirty alley wasn’t necessarily ideal. I just…I couldn’t hold back any longer.” He replied honestly.

Even though marriage was outlawed, he didn’t need some legal document to prove that Veronica would be his to have and to hold through sickness and health. He had planned to do everything else that he could legally do to show that he was completely and solely dedicated to only one woman. And she would be the only woman he would want for the rest of his life.

So he’d bought her a ring through one of his underground contacts that dealt with hard to find jewels. He’d picked out something that he knew Veronica would love. And he already had a call put in to get Veronica a custom gown made.

They would do the whole thing just how any couple would. Cake, flowers, decorations, and anything else Veronica would want. Jughead would have no limits set on whatever her dream wedding would consist of. All he wanted in return was for her to be his, forever and longer.

“Oh, Jughead. It doesn’t matter where or how you propose, all I care about is spending my life with you.” She said as she grabbed his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him tenderly on the lips.

“I can’t believe you said yes.” He told her with a sigh once she’d pulled away to gaze at him.

“I can’t believe you asked.” She replied as she blushed again.

The two stood there, lost in each other, and nearly forgetting about why they were there in the first place.

“Have you noticed if Ethel and Claudia have left yet?” Veronica asked as she looked over across the street, realizing they still had a job to do.

Jughead shook his head no.

“I don’t think they have. But if we lost them, I’m not worried about it. I had other things to take care of.” He said with a flirtatious look as he twirled a strand of Veronica’s hair around his finger.

Veronica smiled coyly. She couldn't wait to get Jughead back home, but in the meantime, she had to distract herself.

“So what did you find out from Reggie today?” She asked, remembering what Jughead had told her before they’d left the compound.

Jughead sighed as he ran a hand through his dark locks.

“I showed him the pills that I’d found in Lola’s room. He said the M definitely meant they were oxy. And he said he sells it all the time and I’d need to be more specific about what I was looking for.” Jughead began as he and Veronica kept their eyes on Hanks front entrance.

“I asked him if Ethel had ever come to him to buy, and he said no. I asked him if he’d had any strange orders lately and he _did_ remember one from a few weeks ago. He said some girl wearing a very fake, blonde wig had come to pick up an order of oxy, weed, speed, and meth.”

Veronica gasped.

“I had no idea he sold hardcore shit like meth.”

Jughead shook his head.

“I didn’t either. And he usually _doesn’t_. But the girl was willing to pay him with sex favors if he could acquire what she was asking for. Reggie said he knew a guy that could get him the meth, so he made it happen.”

Veronica furrowed her brow as she looked across the street. From the look on her face, something didn’t make sense to her.

“It had to have been Claudia who got the drugs from Reggie. Using sex as payment with a sleaze like Reggie is something she's been doing for years. And it couldn't have been Lola. She’s already blonde so wearing a wig would have been pointless. The question is, did Lola get the drugs from Claudia? And if so, why did Claudia give her the drugs in the first place?”

Jughead nodded in agreement but he had no answers to the questions anymore than Veronica did.

“We need to confirm if the girl who bought the drugs was, in fact, Claudia. We’ll get Sweetpea to get us a still of her from the security camera footage at the compound.”

Just then, he noticed movement over at Hanks. Ethel and Claudia were walking out of the front entrance while talking to another young girl their age.

“Who is that with them?” Jughead asked quietly.

Veronica shook her head.

“I can’t tell. She’s got that hoodie pulled up.” Veronica replied as they watched Ethel and Claudia wave goodbye to the girl before hailing a cab.

“They’re leaving. Let’s go.” Veronica said urgently as she grabbed her bike helmet and pulled it on.

Jughead started up the motorcycle as she climbed on behind him.

But their haste was for nothing when the only stop the cab made was the Serpent compound.

Veronica and Jughead watched from a side street nearby as Ethel paid the cab driver and she and Claudia proceeded to enter through the gates to go back to their apartment.

There was no sign of anything unusual.

Jughead heard Veronica’s heavy sigh as she pressed her cheek against his back.

“We need to find out who that girl was. We need to find a way _into_ that club.” Jughead told her, hoping she wouldn’t think of their stake out as a total bust.

“Looks like we need to talk to Reggie again.” Veronica said.

“He’s the only person who might have a way in.”

Jughead nodded.

“Good idea. We can go see him ”

\---

 

_“I’ll fuck you and kill you, bitch.”_

Veronica jolted up in bed, drenched in sweat, her heart racing so fast that she grabbed her chest while tears rolled down her cheeks.

The nightmare had been so real.

She quietly climbed out of bed and headed out of the bedroom to the small, cabin kitchen.

Her hands shook as she sipped a glass of cold water. It was still dark outside and she found herself hoping it would be daylight soon. There was safety in daylight, to an extent.

Veronica sat down on the couch and stared at the diamond ring that Jughead had given to her after he’d proposed to her in the alley across from Hanks.

It was beautiful, and perfect, and she couldn’t believe she was going to be Mrs. Jones in just a matter of months.

Everything seemed to be going so well for her in her life, despite how limited a good life was in their day and age. But the memories of that night at Chuck's brothel haunted her continuously, and she didn’t know how to fight it.

“It’s called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, babe.”

Veronica looked up to see a sleepy, shirtless Jughead coming out of the bedroom. Her heart thumped at the sight of her fiancé. If only he could bring her the kind of peace in her subconscious that he did when she was awake.

“Who told you that, Dr. Jones?” She asked with a weak chuckle. 

Jughead smiled as he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

“I know more than I should, because of my BPD. Plus, I’ve definitely dealt with PTSD before.”

Veronica sighed.

“The two of us are a mess, huh?”

Jughead chuckled.

“I think it just means we’re meant for each other, and meant to help each other through all this shit that plagues us.”

Veronica rested her head on his shoulder, feeling calmer, but saying nothing.

“Veronica…please talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in your nightmares.” He urged softly as he held her.

But Veronica shook her head. She wasn’t ready to put into words what she’d been experiencing, and why. Having fear in her life was not something she was used to. And crying wasn’t something she did often, but a fresh set of hot tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Jughead held her closer to his chest, stroking her hair.

“It’s okay, baby. It will be okay.” He whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

She didn’t know if it actually _would_ be okay, but she trusted Jughead and she knew he understood in a way that no one else could.

Veronica could only hope that planning her wedding to the man she loved would be what it would take to get past this dark place that she seemed to keep getting lost in.

The light in her life of marrying Jughead could be the answer she would need to finally put the monster in her mind to rest.

\---

 

“So what is this password that I need to know in order to get into Hanks?” Veronica asked as she crossed her arms while standing across from Reggie Mantle in his basement office beneath the completely defunct Riverdale high school.

Reggie smirked.

“You know I expect some form of payment before I give you information like that, Lodge.”

Veronica rolled her eyes as she handed Reggie two bottles of her premium Veruno.

“Hmm…yeah…this is good, but I might need just a _little_ more. What do you have on under that sexy dress, Ronnie?”

Veronica shook her head.

“None of your business.” She snapped back, now understanding why Jughead had been in such a grouchy mood that afternoon when she’d gone by the Whyte Wyrm to pick up the Veruno that she would be taking to Reggie.

Jughead had frowned when he saw Veronica walking into the bar looking like a smoke show.

“ _What_? I thought you would actually _like_ my dress.” She said with a knowing laugh.

Jughead scowled.

“I do, but I _don’t_ like that you’re wearing it to go see Reggie Mantle. Or that you’re going without me.”

Veronica sighed.

“Jughead, you know that it makes way more sense for _me_ to be the one to go to Hanks. Too many people know who you are, and you don’t even know what any of the brothel workers look like.” She had reminded him.

She and Jughead had discussed the plan for finding out who the person was that Ethel and Claudia had been talking to, and wondering if she might be the next target of the disappearances. And they agreed that it would be best for Veronica to be the one to infiltrate Hanks to do some snooping.

“I know, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I swear if he even _looks_ at you wrong you better tell me because I would _love_ a reason to kill that asshole.”

Veronica shook her head.

“You’re insane.” She said as Hog Eye handed her the Veruno bottles to take with her.

“Yes, _exactly_. So he better be cool and help us while keeping his mitts off my girl.” Jughead replied as he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a sultry kiss before begging her to be careful while she ran her errand.

Veronica hadn’t seen Reggie in years but she wanted him to be fully aware that she meant business, and as Jughead’s Serpent Queen, she had to play a part. So she mustered up all the confidence she could as she slipped on her Serpent jacket over her tight, short dress before leaving the Wyrm.

“The only other thing I can offer you, Reginald, is for me to _not_ tell Betty Cooper that you deal meth. Because you know she’ll run the story with just a snap of Jughead’s fingers. And where will that leave your black market business? Oh, I know, it will be overrun with junkies, putting quite a tarnish on this empire you’ve built.”

Reggie scowled.

“Fine. Just the Veruno will do. Thank you, Veronica. These bottles will bring in some seriously good trades for me.”

Veronica nodded, smirking at how clever she'd been. She finally felt like she was making some headway.

“So, that password?”

Reggie sat back in his chair.

“The password for anyone associated with me is ‘Earl Grey Tea.’ But that won’t be enough to get you in. They’ll ask for credentials. You’ll have to go get a fake ID. Too many people would _love_ to snag themselves a Veronica Lodge for leverage against Jughead. Call me with your new name as soon as you get one from Andrews and I'll make the call to Hanks.”

Veronica’s heart sank. The last person she’d expected to have to see anytime soon was Archie Andrews. The way she had acted last time she had seen him, coupled with their last phone conversation, had left things beyond awkward between them.

But Reggie had been right. No one could know that Veronica Lodge was hanging out at Hanks. People wouldn’t recognize her like they would Jughead, but her name proceeded her.

So Veronica left the underground depths of Riverdale High and headed to Archie’s base of operations, hoping she would have a chance to apologize as well as a way to finally do something big to help with the investigation.

This could be her only shot.

 

To be continued…

 


End file.
